Amazon Dot D'oh!
by Narfy
Summary: Maggie is now 12 years old and the only Simpson child left in the house. Homer still ignores her though, yet she still wants to try and connect with him. So she signs up for a rafting adventure to the most dangerous river in the world: The Amazon.
1. Holding On

A/N: And looks who's back with another exciting story to share with you all. Wait, Love Thy Neighbor was nothing but a sob fest so it wasn't that exciting, just depressing and gloomy but I somehow got a lot of people's attention and I am not sure why. But any way, this story is nothing like Love Thy Neighbor; it is filled with action, adventure, humor and just enough drama to make you go awwwwwww. Well maybe any way, I haven't written it all down yet. I am still unsure on the length at the moment but I believe I might get up to 20 chapters, maybe more since I get ideas from people. Also if anyone can think of a better title, I would be most grateful.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Simpsons.

* * *

The early afternoon sunset of the Amazon jungle glowed red with intensity as a storm cloud gathered toward it. Its dark form signaled that a large rain storm was coming, and those who were anywhere near it needed to seek shelter quickly.

Alexander Steele watched from a nearby rock formation with disappointment on her face. Even though it was a beautiful sight with all the colors and the lightning flashing in every direction, she was in no mood to see it. She had schedules to keep, but because of the impending storm, everything was delayed.

Alex was a documentary filmmaker with a degree in both biology and ecology. She was known around the world for her documentary show on the Discovery Channel called Alex Steele's Adventures. She was big on helping the planet and was not afraid to show off her love for nature, she blamed it on being raised in the wilds of Montana. So she had a fair amount of adventure in her younger days too.

Beside her stood her sidekick, Milo Sanchez, a young twenty-two year old from the wetness of Washington State. He had been following Alex for the past year and a half, learning her trade to become a great biologist like her. He let out a sigh of annoyance knowing full well how Alex felt; quietly he took off his Mariners hat and scratched his head before pulling his black hair back and putting his hat back on.

"So what's the verdict?" Milo asked.

"Paul said that it's a very powerful storm heading our way, he already went down to the river and noticed it's starting to swell. But I think this is the perfect time to go out and find the footage of a kinkajou. I'm starting to think that we could go out quickly and find one and then edit the footage later," said Alex never taking her eyes off the storm.

"Do you think they will let you?" asked Milo with a bit of nervousness in his voice. The last time he went out alone with Alex they got lost for two days in the jungles of India and was nearly attacked by a hungry Bengal tiger. Luckily for him, Alex saved him in the nick of time after scaring it off with one of the elephants they had been riding on.

"They've done so before, and besides, I've known instances where the storm went a different direction. You've seen them too, I know you have," said Alex.

Milo said nothing, there was no use arguing with her, and their producer Paul knew how Alex was very persistent in her ways. Even if he said no, she would still run off to get footage of something before the day was done.

Before Milo knew it, he was following Alex down the trail toward the jungle. It was getting dark already from the storm, and he could hear the thunder rumble in the distance. He hoped that Alex was right about it going another way, working in the jungle during a rainstorm was never his idea of fun. As he followed Alex, his mind began to wander as he thought about his next project with Alex. They would be leaving tomorrow afternoon to film wolves hunting bison in Yellowstone by the weekend. Then once that was over, Alex would be spending a week in England for a nature conference. Milo was welcome to join which he usually did any way when she went to conferences. He had nowhere else to go.

Milo had lived in foster care since he was thirteen, moving from family to family. When he turned eighteen after graduating from high school, he enrolled in a nearby community college. He studied for two and a half years before deciding to try out an internship to work for the Discovery Channel. He immediately got the job and did not even know he would be working with Alex Steele until his first day of work. In no time they became great friends and for the first time in Milo's life, he felt like he was wanted, it was the best thing he could ever hope for. His internship actually ended a year ago, but he loved working with Alex so much that Alex gave him a full time job as her sidekick. Fans loved the idea; they liked how he asked questions and would sometimes answer letters on the show. His life really turned around from being a forgotten child to a memorable biologist.

Milo continued to think about the next few weeks; once Alex was finished with the conference they were either planning a documentary on the Great Barrier Reef or the Fjords of Norway. Milo hoped it would be the Great Barrier Reef; he hadn't been there yet and dreamed of swimming in the world's largest reef seeing all the beautiful fishes.

"THERE IT GOES!" Milo's momentary mind wandering was quickly brought to reality as Alex ran into the trees. She must have spotted a Kinkajou. Without a word Milo ran into the trees to follow Alex. He soon found her, her video camera on a skinny rat like creature eating a piece of fruit on a tree branch. Alex gave the camera to Milo who quickly started filming for her.

"You ready Milo?" asked Alex.

"Yeah," he said as he adjusted the lens.

Alex gave a quick smile before pointing at the Kinkajou who didn't seem to care that there were two humans standing next to it, the fruit it was eating was more important. "This my faithful viewers is a Kinkajou, a creature related to the raccoon. It's arboreal which means it lives in the trees and rarely moves about on the ground. It is nocturnal as you can see and it's out a little early tonight probably because of the storm that is about to hit, it's getting its nutrients early. As you can see it does have a tail but what is really cool about this tail is that…." Alex paused for a minute as she moved her hand forward to show the camera its prehensile tail. She knew these animals were tame and since it hadn't run away, she would have some good luck in showing off the tail.

Instead, the kinkajou let out frightened squeak before dropping its fruit and ran into the bushes. Alex grumbled under her breath while Milo let out a heavy sigh, he knew that Alex was not going to give up on this and would search for another one until she got all she needed to say out. To make matters worse, the storm was starting to hit, he could feel small droplets of rain hitting his shoulders and hear them hit his hat.

"Do you think we will find it again?" Milo asked as the camera still rolled.

"We'll find another one, leave the camera on this will interest our viewers as we search," said Alex as she started moving through the trees in search of the lost kinkajou. Milo followed as he tried to avoid the tree branches and vines while still holding the camera.

As they moved further into the forest, they both heard the storm getting closer, the rumbles of thunder became louder and the trees around them lit up from the lightning that struck. But Alex showed no signs of stopping she wanted to make everything special for her viewers, she hated letting them down and did not want to disappoint them.

Finally the rains started to fall heavily and the only sound that could be heard were the raindrops hitting the trees. Not even the birds were singing like they usually did in the early twilight. Milo looked around nervously; this seemed more dangerous than usual. He really did not want to be lost in the forest now, even with someone like Alex who knew what she was doing.

"Alex, are you sure you want to keep going?" He asked as loudly as he could through the rain.

"I'm positive, and according to my GPS there is a tributary this way, Kinkajou's usually spend time in rooted trees near there," said Alex through the rain.

Milo said nothing, hopefully Alex was right and that they would find one soon. Everything on him felt damp and now he was hoping that when he got back that he would settle down for a nice bowl of soup from one of the staff members.

"Oh here's the tributary!" exclaimed Alex when she suddenly stopped. Milo moved forward with his camera and videotaped the medium sized river that lay before him. It was not as large as the Amazon but he knew that it most likely ended at the Amazon. It was a good thing to know in case they got lost, they would find their way back to one of the largest rivers in the world and to civilization.

"Look what I found here Milo," Alex suddenly called out. Milo turned around and found Alex squatted on the ground, looking at what looked to be scat. "A Kinkajou has been here, not too long ago either, it's still fresh."

"How do you know it didn't get moist again because of the rain?" asked Milo. Milo loved testing Alex on loopholes like that.

"It's still warm," said Alex with a grin.

Damn! Milo was so close to talking Alex into heading back. Nevertheless, he continued to tape her as she scanned the ground for more clues. A moment later she found tracks and strangely enough, they did not lead to a tree, but toward a rickety looking bridge that crossed over the river.

"Looks like our little guy had to cross to get to the tree he wanted, let's see if we can do the same," said Alex as she motioned for Milo to follow.

Milo videotaped the bridge to show everyone what he was dealing with. He had been on bridges many times before. Some were sturdy and easy to cross while others moved every which way, he had nearly fallen off a few crossing them. Luckily Alex was there to save him. This bridge was no exception, it looked old and very unsafe, and it was a rope bridge too, so there was no telling how easily the ropes could snap or the boards to break. Even the river looked unsafe and he knew that it was because of the rain that was currently falling. The waves lapped up against the bridge, swinging it back and forth, almost as if you could get seasick just crossing the thing.

"How old do you think the bridge is Alex?" Milo asked as Alex began to make her crossing.

"Oh I would say at least thirty years, probably built for the natives in the area. If it wasn't raining, the water would be at least five feet below me but as you can see, its touching it so we have to be careful," said Alex as she moved forward holding onto the ropes as best she could

Milo continued to tape her, he decided to wait and cross once she was all the way through, just to make sure it was safe for him to try it as well and that she could run back on land if she needed to. He watched as she inched along, he could hear the boards underneath her creaking and the bridge sway even more as she tried to hold onto the ropes.

For a second, Milo lowered the camera to wipe off the rain that was falling down his face, it didn't really help much though since he was now soaked to the bone. But it felt better to get the water out of his eyes. As he did so, he heard a loud crack and he looked up just in time to see Alex hit a rotten board and fall into the water below. Milo gasped in fear as he saw his mentor disappear for just a moment before coming back up and holding onto half the board.

"Milo!" she cried.

"Oh crap!" Milo said as he threw the camera down and ran forward to help, ignoring the swaying of the bridge.

He arrived at the nick of time too, a second later the board ripped off the rope and just as Alex was about to be taken away by the rapids, Milo grabbed a hand and held on tight.

"I got you Alex!" He cried as he started to pull and grabbed Alex's other hand. His plan was to walk her back to the land as he held onto her; he knew the bridge was too unstable to even try to get her up there. Alex seemed to sense this and began to move sideways as Milo started moving back to land. It had worked before when he had fallen in, so it had to work this time.

This was a costly mistake though, just as Milo started to move forward his weight stepped on a weak spot on the one of the boards. The next moment, Milo felt a horrible pain hit him in the back of his left thigh as a piece of the board pierced him as he fell into the water. Milo let out a cry of pain but amazingly did not let go of Alex. Both were now in the water though and the only thing keeping both of them from floating away was a large rope that Milo was hanging on to by his upper arm.

"You alright?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, let me just try to figure a way out of this," said Milo as he tried to ignore the pain in his leg.

Milo looked from the left to the right as he tried to find a way to maneuver out of this. He tried to find a foothold but because of the rain, the water was too deep to find a rock. He needed to lift himself out, but he also needed to pull Alex forward so she could cling to the rope as he did so.

"Alex, try to move forward and grab the rope so I can lift myself out," said Milo.

Alex nodded as she tried to move forward, Milo trying to pull her toward him as well. But the current was so strong and the water so deep that Milo was having a hard time balancing himself. Alex was having the same problem and just as she tried to move forward, a rogue wave suddenly appeared and pushed her back. Right before the wave hit Alex, it went full force at Milo who went under. Milo clawed his way to find the rope and was soon able to grab on, only this time, he found himself on the outer edge of the bridge still clinging to Alex but only this time she was being dragged under by a current.

"Just hang on Alex, we can get us back to land," said Milo when he knew that Alex could hear him.

"You can't do that, the current is too strong," Alex said between mouthfuls of water.

"Then what do I do?" Milo asked knowing that Alex always had a solution for everything.

"You're gonna have to let go of me," Alex said.

Milo stared back at Alex, the thought of even doing such a thing seemed like a horrible sin to him. Let go of Alex Steele? The most renowned biologist in the world? The person many people looked up to? He couldn't do such a thing; she was his mentor, the only person that ever showed compassion to him. The only person whoever believed in him and the only person who made him feel wanted.

"No Alex I can't do that," Milo finally said as he tried to pull both of them toward land.

"Yes you can Milo, you have to if one of us is to continue on," Alex said.

"No, I can do this, I know I can save you," said Milo as tears started to form in his face while he kept trying.

"Milo, one of us has to make it," Alex said as she looked into his eyes for a brief moment.

"No," Milo shook his head fearfully.

Alex only looked back at him, she knew his reasons but if he continued to hold on like this, they would be stuck there until his arms got sore. There was no way out of this. She was still holding on to his hand but now she had to save him. She loosened her grip but apparently Milo was the one holding on harder, he really had a tough grip.

"I'm not letting go!" He said again in a voice that almost sounded childlike.

"Please," Alex said, her eyes filled with regret, but at least one of them would go back and let everyone know what happened.

Milo sensed this and he didn't like it one bit. Finally with a heavy sigh he loosened his grip.

Milo clung to the rope of the bridge as he watched and waited for his mentor to appear again. There was no sign of her, she wasn't even clinging to a rock, it was all over. He continued to stare at the river for a few more minutes, waiting and hoping. She never appeared again, finally he pulled himself back to land and as he did so, he noticed something. The camera was on the ground and pointing at him, its red light flashing.

Milo stared at it for a minute before slowly pulling himself up; he regretted it immediately as he felt the pain from falling into the water shoot back into his leg. He had no idea how bad the injury was, but he was not about to find out, he had something more important to do. Quietly and slowly he limped toward the camera and picked it up. He stared straight into it, tears mixing with the raindrops as they fell down his cheeks.

"This is Milo Sanchez, sidekick to the great Alexander Steele. I don't know if the camera actually got everything but as you can see I did something I regretted doing. …I am so sorry everyone, I know she meant a lot to you all including me…… and she died doing what she loved…" Milo paused for a moment as he tried to hold his sadness in, he tried to wipe the tears away but they kept falling. This was the worst experience in his life, even worse than before Alex took him in. Milo sighed once more and then continued. "…When you see this tape, I will be long gone, …I don't deserve to live with the regret that I just did, even if it was for the best. So goodbye everyone, thanks for the memories."

* * *

Maggie Simpson watched as the computer screen went black before it asked if she wanted to replay the video. It had been almost three weeks since Alex and Milo had been reported missing, two days into the search, the camera was found. The producers of the show watched it and wondered if it was appropriate to show it to the audience that followed their adventures through many wild places. Everyone believed they needed to see it and Maggie was no exception.

Maggie stood still on the chair while Lisa stood behind her; she had watched it the night before after Maggie told her to watch it for her, just to see if she could take the grief. Lisa believed she could, but once the screen went black, she started to regret it.

"They can't be gone, it can't be real," Maggie said, her nine year old voice filled with sadness.

"But they've searched everywhere, there is no trace of them," said Lisa.

Maggie said nothing but simply got up from her chair and made her way up the stairs to her room. Lisa watched her go. She had comforted her many times these past three weeks but nothing she could say could bring her hero's back. She knew the feeling, eight years before she lost Bleeding Gums Murphy and it took her a long time to cope with his loss. Maggie would accept it one day, but for now, it was best to mourn until her heart's content. She could not stop her.

Lisa then made her way up the stairs to her room; she passed Maggie's on the way over and saw her sobbing on her bed. Lisa watched her for a moment, during the past three weeks; she was the only one that Maggie would confide in. Bart now lived away from home, so talking to him was limited. Her mother Marge tried her best but, according to Maggie, she didn't understand any of it, and her father Homer, well he only made it worse. Lisa was slightly glad to feel wanted, but every time she walked out of her sister's room, she felt that nothing was accomplished and a horrible gloom remained in the air for a few hours afterward. Lisa decided to leave her alone this time and went to her own room, there she grabbed her saxophone and began to play a song for her little sister. Maggie listened as he sister played; quietly she wiped the tears from her eyes and sat up before staring out the window and wondering if Alex and Milo would ever be heard from again.

* * *

A/N: ZOMG teh Drama!!! Sorry, any way that last part probably wasn't the best but I didn't want too much dialogue in it, plus it was starting to get too long. I don't think it worked very well but oh well, I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter any way. Just to warn you in advance, the first few chapters are gonna be a bit slow, I just want to set up the mood and everything so nobody complain about it being slow, I will be well aware of that. Also I probably will not update as much but we will see how that goes. And if anybody is wondering what a Kinkajou is, just go to Wikipedia they are very cool animals. Other than that please review and have a nice day.


	2. Club Meeting

Homer Simpson sat alone in the Power Plants break room as he rummaged through his lunch sack to see what his wife Marge had made him for that day. First he pulled out a ham and cheese sandwich covered in lettuce, tomatoes, mayo and several other fixings that Marge knew Homer would love. With a big grin on his face and unwrapped it and took a big bite.

"Mmmmm…..Delectamable," he said in a dreamy voice, his eyes half closed.

As he continued to eat his sandwich, he dug back into his sack to find what Marge had also put in there for him. One was a bag full of Oreo cookies, a favorite of his, and another was a bag of chips with a piece of paper inside. Homer took another bite into his sandwich before opening the bag to see what the paper was all about. It was actually a letter written in his youngest daughter Maggie's handwriting. It read:

Daddy,

I put the chips in for you, hope you enjoy them.

Can't wait to go bowling with you tonight

And I hope we get ice cream too.

Remember my club meeting ends at 5:30, see you then

Love, Maggie.

"Aww I can't wait either sweetheart," Homer said as he put the note in his pocket for safe keeping.

Homer took one last bite of his sandwich before Lenny and Carl walked into the room with their lunches in hand. They quickly took a seat across from Homer and began to eat their meal while Homer started to eat his Oreo cookies by taking one part off and licking the frosting first.

"How's the day going Homer?" Lenny asked as he took a bite of his own sandwich.

Homer took another lick of the Oreo frosting before responding. "Oh the usual, fell asleep at the controls, Smithers wakes me up and yells for a while his assistant just shakes his head. I swear I have never heard that guy say a word." Homer then continued to lick the frosting.

"Well that's what assistants do, they don't talk much," said Carl as he took a sip of his soda.

"But Smithers used to chew my head off all the time, even before age finally caught up with Burns," said Homer in between the Oreos.

"Eh whatever, you're just not popular among the higher ups, but that's because they're a bunch of free loaders," said Lenny.

Homer only nodded in agreement as he continued to lick his Oreo half. Both Lenny and Carl stared at him and Carl especially seemed a little worried by Homer's love for just one half of a cookie. Homer soon noticed and stopped licking for a moment.

"What?" he asked.

"Are you ever gonna finish it?" asked Carl.

Homer stared at what was left of the cookie; only a little bit of frosting remained, really not worth the lick. Finally Homer threw it behind his back causing it to hit the wall and stay there thanks to his sticky saliva.

"Hey that was pretty cool, I wonder if you can do that again?" said Lenny who then took a cookie without asking and began to lick the half with the frosting. Homer did the same and a second later they were having a cookie battle to see which cookie could hit the wall the highest.

"Heh, they look like buttons," said Homer with a silly giggle.

"Smithers is gonna be mad when he sees this mess though," said Carl.

"_When _he sees it, we will be long gone," said Homer with a sly grin as he got up and walked toward the door to see if Smithers was anywhere nearby.

"Oh and before I forget, are you going to Sam's birthday party tonight at Moe's?" asked Carl.

"I'd like to, but I promised Maggie I would take her bowling," said Homer as he returned to his seat and finished his chips.

"What time are you going with her?" asked Lenny.

"Five thirty, why?" asked Homer.

"Because, Sam's party starts at five, why not stop in and wish him a happy birthday, have a drink and leave, Maggie will never figure it out," said Lenny.

Homer stroked his chin and thought about it for a moment. It was a nice idea to wish a good friend a happy birthday. But he could do it the next time he went to Moe's, tonight he promised Maggie and Maggie was counting on him. He had already forgotten quite a few daddy daughter get together's, he did not want to let her down this time. But it would only be a half an hour at the bar and Maggie's little shindig was not too far away from it. He could probably pull it off.

"Okay I'll only be there for a half an hour, one beer and one birthday wish, then I am off to be with my little angel."

* * *

Maggie Simpson looked like the spitting image of her mother when she was twelve, save for that fact that Maggie had inherited her father's hair color before he lost it all. Her hair wasn't the longest in the world; it only went down just below her shoulders while her bangs had a bit of a wild side to them, as if the wind had moved them around. She was about average size and was much quieter than her sister Lisa or her brother Bart. She did inherit Lisa's love of nature, though not the vegetarianism. On the occasion, she had a bit of Bart's sneakiness when it came to getting out of trouble or hiding something. Yet she wasn't fond of being compared to them, she was Maggie Simpson thank you very much.

She listened as Jeremy Swinton, the leader of the Young Adult Adventure Seekers Club, gave them information about an upcoming bake sale. It was a fun little event that Maggie liked to do, because it helped her learn how to make good marshmallow squares that her mom was famous for. Beside her sat Celia, her best friend.

"Thinking about those marshmallow squares for the bake sale?" she whispered in Maggie's ear.

"Of course, they are the only things without chocolate and you know how popular that is for people who can't eat chocolate," said Maggie.

"I feel sorry for those people," Celia said before Maggie shushed her.

Their momentary chat did not cause any stir because Jeremy continued talking as if he heard nothing. "Now I was thinking that for this year's bake sale, instead of it all going to a certain environmental group, only half of it will. The rest I thought would be nice if we gave half of it to help out Todd Flanders to fix the torn ligament in his shoulder. Because after all, we did cause it," Jeremy said with a shrug. Everyone else nodded in agreement.

"Stupid Flanders," Maggie said under gritted teeth. It was her fault mostly. They had been out camping for a weekend when Todd, who was Jeremy's second in command for the club, decided to take part of the group out on some steep terrain for a few hours. Maggie, being the adventurous spirit that she was, decided to climb down a rocky slope to check out a small creek bed. Todd, being the concerned co leader of the club that he was, decided that he needed to follow her. He tripped on a rock, and rolled quite a few feet down the hill before falling down a cactus and several rocks before running straight into a tree. Needless to say he was in the hospital for a week with a concussion, a broken leg, several stitches, and a broken arm that never healed properly due to an infection.

"I hope to do the bake sale by the end of this month so please notify me on what you plan on creating as soon as possible," said Jeremy while he rummaged through his notes looking for any other important news. "Oh yes and our fifth annual daddy and me summer trip is here again. I hope to do it in July like last summer when we did that really cool hiking trip in the Canadian Rockies. This year I narrowed it down to two choices, horseback riding in Montana or a rafting adventure in the Amazon."

Maggie let out a gasp, the Amazon! The same place where her hero Alexander Steele had disappeared. And it was also a fascinating place.

"No Maggie, we are not searching for Alex Steele, it's just a daddy and me rafting trip," said Jeremy. Apparently he heard her gasp.

"What makes you think I wanted to do that?" asked Maggie, blushing a little.

"Well seeing as how you took almost half of the oxygen out of the room just now, that wasn't hard to notice," said Jeremy

Maggie let out an embarrassed giggle and slunk down her chair, hiding a little behind her table. Celia only laughed at her; Maggie only glared back at her. She couldn't help it if she got hyper over the things she loved, everyone did.

"And there are two choices but we can only do one so I would like to see a show of hands, how many for Montana?" Jeremy asked.

A group of hands shot up and Jeremy counted them before writing them down on his clipboard. It wasn't a big club, only about fifty members but all of them loved nature. One of them included Lee Bardley, a fourteen year old who had been to all four of those adventures, so he had the most experience. Maggie and Celia admired him for his toughness, he was handsome too, but they weren't into that kind of thing yet. They just liked how he was never afraid to do anything.

"Alright, now show of hands for the Amazon trip," Jeremy said.

Maggie sheepishly lifted hers, and even Celia thought this would be a fun excursion and raised her arm. Jeremy again counted and wrote it down before looking at the verdict. He let out a whistle of surprise before responding.

"Well that is surprising, Montana got twenty-two votes and the Amazon got twenty-eight, not a bad result right there," said Jeremy

Maggie grinned at Celia, looks like the Amazon won. Both had not been on a trip yet and both of them were hoping that this was the year to do it. Now that Maggie was the only child left in the house, she might have a better advantage of going on the trip. Celia hadn't even asked her father about the trips, she only wanted to go if Maggie was going, and it looked like this would be the year to pop the question.

"Since the Amazon won out, here are the fliers about the excursion, the cost looks to be like it will run between fifteen hundred to two thousand dollars but it does include flight, rafting equipment, and the hotel accommodations when we first get there so it's not too bad. And I don't want anyone to sign up now, talk it over with your parents first," said Jeremy who seemed to glare over at Maggie. Maggie of course knew better than to sign up right away. She just liked the mystery of the Amazon even if it did take the life of her hero three years ago.

For the next hour, Jeremy began the normal routine of the club, game time. Today it was a treasure hunt where you had to find what was listed on the piece of paper you got with your partner. Maggie and Celia were together of course and both had a grand old time finding what they needed. They loved the game, though they rarely won, mainly because Jeremy and Todd, whenever he was around, knew how to hide things.

It was all over by five thirty and everyone had to clean up and head out to find their parents cars. Maggie and Celia both walked out of the building and looked around for their parents.

"So are you gonna ask your parents if you can go on the trip?" Celia asked Maggie.

"Of course, we've wanted to do trips together forever and this one sounds fun," said Maggie.

"Then I will ask my dad this weekend, I bet he will say yes, I've mentioned these trips before and he always sounds interested," said Celia.

"I hope my Dad will sound interested in going with me, I think we need to bond more, he's always off doing something he's not supposed to be doing," said Maggie.

"Yeah, I remember that one sleep over with you, that was just weird," said Celia as she began to look around for her father's car.

"I think my Dad was extra drunk that night," said Maggie as she rolled her eyes at a memory she really wanted to forget. She quickly changed the subject as she looked around for Homer. "See your Dad anywhere?"

"I think he might be running a bit late," said Celia without any worry in her voice. She knew her dad would do that sometimes.

"My Dad should be here by now, he gets out of work by five and it's not too far from here," said Maggie looking a bit worried.

"Maybe he got overtime," said Celia.

"Hah! My Dad?! Working overtime? Totally unlikely, he's probably taking his time and talking to friends, he does that sometimes," said Maggie.

"Your mom could be picking you up instead too," said Celia.

Maggie thought about this for a moment and quickly remembered the reason for spending the evening with her father. Her mother was at a meeting tonight about the upcoming art classes in the fall at the community college. Marge had decided to teach art a few years ago after realizing how boring it was in the house cleaning and running errands all day now that Maggie was older. She wanted to do something new and becoming an art teacher sounded like fun to her. Homer was a little reluctant at first but then he was happy that Marge was happier and that they had a little more money in the bank.

"No she has a art faculty meeting tonight, so she will be there late and Dad promised a game of bowling with me so he can't forget that, I even left him a note," said Maggie.

Celia knew Homer though, he had done a few dumb things when she was around and usually felt sorry for Maggie and how her father treated her. But of course she remembered how her father used to be five years before. His name was Riley and for many years he was always too busy for Celia, her mom, and her older sister Paige, always more worried about work than about his family. Then his wife got into a terrible accident and didn't make it, he felt terrible and quit his job to work at a place where he was not so busy and had plenty of time for his children.

Celia's momentary thoughts were quickly interrupted by the honking of a car horn. Both she and Maggie looked toward the sound and found that it was Riley ready to pick Celia up.

"Well there's my Dad, see you on Monday," said Celia.

"See ya," said Maggie quietly as she watched her best friend ride away.

Maggie stood there on the curb watching her other friends get into their parents cars and drive away, some stood around waiting as well but after a while they were gone too. To pass the time she struck up a conversation with some of her fellow club members who were thinking about visiting the lake on Sunday to go fishing. It sounded like fun to Maggie, she liked to fish on occasion, especially when there was nothing else to do. If nothing was going on on Sunday she would probably join them.

Finally it was six o'clock and everyone was gone from the front entrance of the building save for her and Jeremy who stayed to make sure everyone was picked up.

"Who's supposed to pick you up today?" Jeremy asked.

"My Dad, he promised bowling," said Maggie.

Jeremy only nodded and stood beside her waiting, he did have a cell phone if she needed it but Maggie only used one as a last resort. She could wait patient, her father was just slow sometimes, and he had been late a few times before, she needed to keep her hopes up.

But as Maggie waited and the later it became, her hopes began to lower and now she was feeling angry that she even considered wanted to spend time with her Dad. Now thoughts were swimming in her mind, angry thoughts. Why did she even think her father would remember to spend time with her? Why was she so excited about spending time with him when this would most likely happen? Would he even apologize to her when she saw him later? She wanted to give him a piece of her mind now.

Finally it was six fifteen and still no sign of Homer, Jeremy noticed how Maggie looked upset and took out his phone. "Here, see if you can get a hold of him on this."

Maggie took the phone from his hands and dialed her father's number, she listened to it ring a few times before it went straight to her father's voicemail. Maggie grumbled in annoyance, her father was not answering, usually he did, he must be up to something and this made Maggie feel angry. He had promised her and now he was off doing something else, some father.

Maggie stood on the curb for a moment, thinking about what to do now. Her father was not answering, and her mother could not answer until at least seven o'clock. Who else could she try now? Lisa was not in town at the moment, she would be gone for another year, so that was out of the question. The only option was to get a hold of Bart and she hoped that he would help her out.

* * *

A/N: Ugh I am so glad I am done with this chapter, it was nothing but filler and I hated writing it. So I apologize for anyone who had their hopes up for a good story from me, so far I am not very motivated and it's driving me nuts. I am going to tell you the truth about this, I have ideas for later chapters but I have no idea where some of them are going to go. So yeah if I suddenly give up on it, you will know why. I do appreciate reviews though to help me out; maybe someone will give me some ideas, who knows.

Also because the title of this story is not my favorite, I am going to put a poll in my profile page with options of other title ideas to see which ones you guys like, so please vote. If you have better suggestions, please let me know.

Oh and Celia is bdlywrttn's real name, she is a very good friend who has been that way since 2006. Yeah we share laughs together, review each other's works and try to motivate each other. Check out her work when you can, she does really well. Any way I will see you all around.


	3. Heading Home

When Bart Simpson turned eighteen, just before he moved out, he made it clear to his sisters that if they ever needed anything that he would be there for them. He did not want to end up like his father and run off to drink or skip out on a special occasion for them. No, he wanted to help them because he was the big brother and that is what big brothers do.

Bart had just closed his comic book store when Maggie called, she sounded very distraught and upset and at first he thought something had happened to her and either Marge or Homer. He was relieved to find out it was only because Homer skipped out on her, but also mad that he would make a promise like that and not keep it.

Bart was happy to help her out though; he had no plans for the evening, only head home to his apartment that he shared with Nelson and Milhouse. There he would probably play video games with Nelson while Milhouse complained that they were being too loud for him to study through.

Milhouse was going to college for a degree in health and medicine; he became fascinated by medicine and wanted to work in the pharmacy buisness. It was a tough major to study for but he was persistant. He only had about a year left to go and then he could finally become the person he had dreamed of being since he was fourteen. Just as long as his roommates remained quiet during his studies.

Nelson dropped out of high school in the eleventh grade after failing two classes. It wasn't a surprise; he never showed any interest in school any way. So he quickly took a job at a local entertainment store and had been there ever since. Bart graduated from high school and like Homer promised when he was ten, he was out the door. At first Bart would not leave, he didn't know where to go. Homer sensed this and let him stay until he figured it all out; he got a job working for the Comic Book Guy at his comic store and soon moved in with Nelson in an apartment just a few miles from home. Bart only worked for Comic Book Guy for about a year before he had enough of his attitude with customers and created a store of his own. Milhouse worked there on weekends for extra money and so far it was doing well and Bart liked that.

It was a nice quiet life for him now; he still visited his family for a few hours on the weekend and was always willing to do something for his sisters, well sister at the moment, Lisa was out of state joining the Peace Corps for a year.

Bart drove down the road with Maggie, keeping his eyes on the road but occasionally looking over at Maggie to see how she was fairing. She did look upset and he did not blame her, she hadn't even said a word to him except that she wanted to go home. Apparently doing anything with her big brother was out of the question.

"Why did I even get my hopes up, this was bound to happen anyway," Maggie finally said after nearly ten minutes of silence.

"I'm sorry that had to happen, if it makes you feel any better, my hopes of hanging out with Homer ended in disappointment almost seventy-five percent of the time when I was your age," said Bart.

"Yeah," Maggie said sadly as she stared down at Bart's dirty floor of his car. It was covered in fast food cups and a few hamburger wrappers, some still had cheese on them from who knows how long. Silently she moved the cups around with her feet and let out a heavy sigh.

Bart watched her move his trash around, it was probably her way of saying that he needed to clean his car, at least their mother was not in the care with them. She would probably have a heart attack after seeing a single wrapper lying there.

"Sorry about the mess," Bart finally said when they reached a stoplight.

Maggie looked up with surprise. "Huh? Oh I didn't even notice," she said before looking out the window.

Bart let out a concerned frown, for the past three years he had been living away and it made him wonder how often Homer promised Maggie something like this. Maggie was always the quiet one so she never complained when she visited him. She would usually tell him about her time at school or about a fun little adventure she had with Celia. It was never anything about Homer and it did make him wonder.

"How often did he promise to take you somewhere?" asked Bart.

Maggie was quiet for a moment as she stared out at the buildings they drove by. "Oh not very often, he's usually with his friends at Moe's. A few weeks ago I felt that since I was usually with Mom, I felt I needed to spend some time with him, he liked the idea but apparently not enough," said Maggie her eyes now getting misty again at the thought of being forgotten.

"Well he probably was excited," said Bart.

"Then where is he Bart!? Where is he if I am riding home with you?" asked Maggie her voice now rising high enough to catch Bart off guard. She rarely talked this loud and it caused him to swerve a little on the road almost causing a car to rear end him. Bart quickly waved at the car to let him know it was an accident and kept driving. He was silent for a moment as he made sure he was keeping his eyes on the road before responding.

"I don't know," he said quietly.

The rest of the drive home was spent in silence. Maggie stared at the buildings that they drove past while Bart kept his eyes on the road wishing he would somehow give his father a piece of his mind.

* * *

Around the same time Maggie was dropped off at home, Homer was racing down the road to see Maggie. He already knew that Maggie would no longer be at the club and would most likely be home by now. He wanted to apologize to her for skipping out on her, he knew it was his fault and he blamed it on himself for even accepting four more beers from Moe.

He knew he was inebriated, but he also knew that he had driven home after drinking this much before. This time though he was not driving the speed limit, he was going at least fifteen over, but he did not care he could make it home without being caught. He knew how most of the cops in Springfield didn't pay attention to their speedometers and he believed he could get home without much trouble.

Of course being inebriated can mess with your sense of depth perception, he saw a yellow light and he felt he was close enough to beat it before he turned red. He still made it through the light just as the other side turned green but there was a cop waiting in the turn lane of the light he was supposed to stop at.

It wasn't long before Homer saw the lights in his rearview mirror; he knew he could not run away from this because he would get a much worse offense. He had to pull over and hopefully the officer would understand why he had done so.

Homer sat in his car thinking about how to explain the situation I the best way possible, he had been pulled over before and once it was a DUI but that was eleven years ago. No one was with him to tell the cops to give the breathalyzer so hopefully he could get lucky.

Homer only had to wait a few minutes before the cop made his way forward, and it wasn't long before Homer recognized him. It was Eddie, one of the more stern cops on the force, this could be difficult.

"Sir did you notice you ran a red light while going at least fifteen miles above the speed limit?" Eddie asked sternly.

"Yes sir, but it was only because I need to get home to my little girl," said Homer.

"Oh is she sick?" asked Eddie looking a bit concerned.

For a moment Homer sensed that this little white lie could get him off the hook, it had worked once before five years ago when Lisa was really sick and he had to race to the hospital where Marge was waiting to be comforted.

"Yes sir, my wife's car broke down and she needs to get my daughter to the hospital so I need to get home to them," said Homer.

"I could call an ambulance for you," said Eddie.

"Oh no, you don't need to do that I got everything under control, really I do," said Homer now looking a bit nervous as he twiddled his fingers on his steering wheel. Eddie seemed to notice this and shined his light on Homers face, Homer instantly backed away from the brightness.

"Sir, what is wrong with your daughter any way?" asked Eddie.

"Uh well…her uh…head is hurting her really bad and…uhhhhhhhh," Homer knew he was now in trouble and now had no idea how to get out of it.

"Step out of the car," said Eddie.

Slowly Homer unbuckled his seat belt and opened the door before meeting Eddie near the trunk of his car. He knew Eddie had a breathalyzer somewhere on his belt and he knew he would use it eventually.

"Please sir, I really want to get home to my daughter, she needs me," said Homer trying his hardest to sound concerned.

"Is she really sick or are you just using it as an excuse for driving fast while intoxicated?" asked Eddie as he started writing Homer's license plate down while looking around as if he was trying to find a straight line for Homer to walk on.

"No officer she is not really sick, I just promised her I would spend the evening with her and now I need to get home to apologize," said Homer. He was not happy telling the truth like that but it was for the best.

"And why are you even late picking her up in the first place?" asked Eddie.

"Because I was spending some time with friends," said Homer nervously.

"You guys weren't drinking were you?" asked Eddie his face stern and ready for anything that Homer might say.

"I was," said Homer nervously.

"How many beers?" asked Eddie.

"Only one or two, not enough to get me drunk, and like I told you I was only driving fast so I could get home to my daughter," said Homer.

"Only two huh? Well before I can trust you on that, I need to you to walk down this line right here," said Eddie.

Homer hated walking in a straight line, even when he was sober he never liked it, mostly because he was never coordinated to begin with. He usually tripped over himself even when he was sober so he knew he would lose this game without a problem, still he knew he had to do it and started moving forward.

It took only a few seconds, but to Homer it seemed like hours before he finally reached the end. He looked up at Eddie whose face had not changed since he started the test. Did he do anything wrong?

"I failed didn't I?" Homer asked sadly.

"I'm not saying anything until you breathe into this," said Eddie.

Oh great! It was the dreaded breathalyzer; well there was no turning back now. Homer let out a quick sigh as he stood there staring at the evil contraption that he had used a few times before when driving too fast, once he had failed, he hoped it would not be the same outcome. Finally he breathed into it, it was only second before it gave Eddie a reading but to Homer it seemed like days or weeks. The breathalyzer then beeped giving Homer the news he did not want. Eddie glared at Homer.

"Alright put your hands behind your back, you're coming with me," said Eddie.

Homer did as he was told; he could not fight this, and made his way toward Eddie's car. He had ruined the entire night just by agreeing to do something for only a few minutes and he knew there was no way any of this could get any better. It was going to get a lot worse.

* * *

A/N: Okay how many of you were expecting that? Yes it shall make the night more interesting mwhahahahahahaha!!! And look it was short, well to me at least. Homer seemed a little out of character but I will let you all decide that. Any way two things I have to mention at the moment, I know there are people hanging around in my profile, I know this because there is a little status thing that says how many people visit my page in a day. So I am surprised that only two people have voted in my little poll I put up which is just above my little avatar so please vote because you don't want me to send you a PM thanking you for the review and telling you to vote now would you? Well maybe some of you would but still, please vote I want to know if the title of this story is good enough or not.

And one more thing, everyone is still reading Love Thy Neighbor like crazy. What is up with you people? Haven't you had enough of crying yet? Don't you all want to read this adventure? You people are just crazy, but that's okay, I am crazy too, as you can tell by the way I am saying all these random things. Also I do plan on rewriting chapter one of Love Thy Neighbor; I will warn you though when that is up just in case you all wonder what the hell is going on. Actually I might rewrite a few of the early chapters just because they have a small mistake from the last few chapters. Yeah.

I have no idea when my next chapter will be up, I have papers to write next week, but then Thanksgiving is here so then I will have some time, but then again you all will be with families so I will wait until after the holiday. Okay I will shut up now and let you all review, have a nice holiday to my American friends and I will see you around.


	4. Trouble Brewing

A/N: Just in case anyone is wondering. Yes I did see the new episode The Devil Wears Nada two Sundays ago. Yes I almost screamed but yes I did enjoy the episode. It was one of the few better ones that have been shown lately.

Also you may have noticed the new title, three people voted and two of them liked Amazon.D'oh better so that's the new name. If you are wondering how it is pronounced just think . Big thanks to CalculatedChaos for coming up with the name in the first place; I should have listened to him earlier too. Any way let us continue.

* * *

Marge Simpson rarely got angry over anything her husband did; she usually took it all in stride and accepted the fact that her husband was simply a silly oaf. There was no doubt about it, she loved her husband to death, he made a few mistakes here in there, but of course everyone does, even herself. Tonight though was entirely different.

She had just walked out of her meeting at the community college when her cell phone rang. She was not expecting to hear from Homer until later in the evening after bowling with Maggie so she was a little worried when she answered. But worry soon turned to anger when Homer explained the situation to her. One count of DUI with a five hundred dollar bail out. His car was now at the impound lot where it would most likely be bailed out for one thousand dollars. She would get him out of jail but decided that he was on his own for his car which he was not allowed to get until Monday morning.

Marge was now driving down the road, Homer in the passenger seat looking quite embarrassed but too afraid to say anything to incur his wife's wrath. He stared back at her, her eyes on the road ahead but there was an angry gleam in them, one he rarely saw, and one that never had a good outcome. Marge hadn't said a word to him, even when she picked him up, she only stomped back to the car, and drove home. Homer knew he had to break the ice sooner or later though, if he didn't, he would probably be sleeping on the couch for the night.

"If it's any consolation I was trying to get home to apologize to her," said Homer nervously. Marge stared down the dark road for a long time, Homer wondered if she was even listening to him and was about to call her name when she finally spoke.

"That's not the point Homer; you broke a promise to a little girl who had been waiting all week for this. Why the hell did you have to be so selfish and get drunk for the eight thousandth time?" asked Marge, her voice starting to rise.

"It was the guys fault, they wanted me to come and wish Sam a happy birthday. I was only going to be there for a half an hour but Moe kept pushing me to drink more. I kept trying to leave but they would not let me," said Homer.

"Haven't you said that Sam is there almost every night though?" asked Marge.

"Mostly Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays," said Homer who then immediately regretted saying that.

"So you could have joined him tomorrow and wished him a happy birthday," said Marge her eyes never leaving the road.

"I could have…but then there would be no cake," said Homer with a silly grin knowing it was a good excuse for him since he loved cake.

"Wipe that grin off your face Homer, I'm still not accepting your excuse," said Marge. She sounded more like she was reprimanding a child than to her own husband. But then again, Homer did act childish.

"Will saying I'm sorry help?" asked Homer.

"I don't know you'll have to ask your daughter," said Marge with a huff.

"I was talking about you," Homer answered gruffly.

"I'm not the one you are supposed to apologize. Sure I had to bail you out with five hundred dollars of my own money, you're lucky I love you enough to take you home tonight, I could have left you in there until the morning for you to learn something. God forbid you should," said Marge.

Homer stared back at his wife's angry face, the lights illuminating off her like some enchantress from a Disney movie he remembered seeing on TV a while back. It would make anyone cringe, Homer especially; he hated getting on his wife's bad side, he never knew when her good mood had returned. A few years back there was an incident that he preferred to forget, one that sort of dampened the relationship between him and Bart. Marge would not speak to him for nearly a week and spent his nights sleeping on the couch. Even after complaining about a hurt back from sleeping on said couch would not soften Marge's mood. Marge finally gave in though when Homer came home late with flowers saying he had a talk with Bart and that Bart had sort of forgiven him, but not really. Marge was glad they talked it over though and finally let him sleep with her again.

"I'll talk to her when we get home," Homer said quietly. Marge only grunted, she was in no mood to talk any more at the moment. She just wanted to get home to her daughter and make Homer apologize for what he did.

The last ten minutes of the drive home was spent in silence, to Homer it seemed like hours as they drove through the town and into their quiet neighborhood. He stared out at the houses that were lit up with families just finishing dinner and spending some quality time together. He knew he should be doing that now and he did wonder what Maggie was up to as she waited for them to come home. Did she even know what had happened?

They soon pulled into the driveway and Homer slowly got out of the car while Marge jumped out on her side and slammed the door before making her way toward the front door of the house. Homer watched her; afraid to even go near her, but slowly he followed her in. Marge was just about to open the door to walk in when the most annoying voice that Homer had ever heard called out his and Marge's name.

"Hi diddly ho, neighbors!" Ned Flanders voice called as he made his way over to talk to them. Great more of the night ruined.

"Hello Ned," said Marge in a frustrated sounding voice, one that she hoped would get him to leave them alone tonight.

"Hey Flanders," Homer said in a tone almost like Marge's. But apparently he did not get the message.

"I don't mean to be a nosey neighbor but is something troubling your daughter?" asked Ned.

Marge stared at Homer, apparently Ned had seen Maggie come home looking down and tried to cheer her up. Something that most likely did not work since Maggie had the same fondness for Ned that Homer had.

"Yes, why do you ask?" Marge asked trying to sound calm.

"Well she has been spending the past hour sitting in the tree house and throwing rocks into my koi pond, which I guess is all fine and dandy since fish like rocks at the bottom of their cozy home but I think she was purposely trying to hurt them. She kept saying angry things to them and calling them Dad, so I would beware of her," said Ned as he pointed a finger at Homer. He had built the koi pond in his backyard three years ago and it was one of his pride and joys. Ned was trying not to say it, but Marge could tell that Ned wanted her and Homer to reprimand their daughter for stressing his fish out.

"We will talk to her then," said Marge as she grabbed Homer's arm and pulled him to the backyard. Even if Maggie had gone inside now and hiding in the bathroom, it didn't matter, she was going to make Homer have a long talk with his youngest daughter.

They reached the backyard and quickly found Santa's Little Helper sitting on the porch looking at them with a confused and concerned face. Santa's Little Helper was no longer the energetic dog that the family knew, his fur had turned grey and his legs had some very bad arthritis. He was usually seen sleeping in a corner or sitting in front of the dining table wanting scraps. He still loved being petted though except for when he was taking a nap and Maggie would come over to greet him. He would let out a low growl as if to say that he was trying to sleep. But he would not bite or get up to move, he would only tolerate it.

The old dog's grumpiness reminded Homer of his own father Abe, and how he would always find him either sleeping or grumbling about something. Grampa had passed away four years ago and for a long time there was an empty void in the family's life. The sound of Grampa's whiney voice and low grumbles were deeply missed until Santa's Little Helper started showing the same qualities Grampa had. Homer would even call the dog Grampa, but that is also because Santa's Little Helper is such a long name.

"Is Maggie still in the tree house boy?" asked Marge.

Santa's Little Helper only growled before turning to his food bowl, apparently Maggie hadn't bothered to feed him yet.

Marge only ignored him for a moment, Maggie was more important that very second. The old dog could wait a while longer for his dinner. She looked up at the tree house and saw the light that Maggie had installed in the corner on. It was usually only on when Maggie was up there.

"Maggie, are you up there?" Marge called.

It wasn't long before Maggie's face appeared in one of the windows and looked down at her parents with an annoyed glare. "Yup, been up here since I got home, didn't feel like going in my room, this place is more private." She said.

"Good, I hope you don't mind your privacy interrupted. Your father has something to say to you and he is not allowed inside until he gives you a sincere apology for what he did," Marge said.

Before Homer even realized what his wife had said, he turned around just in time to see the back door slam and hear her turn the lock. Homer ran forward and banged on the door.

"Aww Marge let me in, Maggie's not gonna listen to me," Homer whined.

There was no response as Marge turned off the living room light. Homer only let out an annoyed sigh while Santa's Little Helper quickly scooted between Homer's legs and went through the doggy door. Homer knew better than to try crawling through that tiny flap and grumbled under his breath.

"Lucky dog," he said.

At that moment Homer wished he were someone else. He was never good at apologizing to his kids; a lot of them had failed over the years including the last one he had between him and Bart. God he hated that memory!

Homer let out a sigh and looked up at the tree house; Maggie was standing at the entrance with a sour look on her face. He looked down at the ground unable to stare back at her but he knew he had to get it over with or he would be sleeping out in the yard.

"You don't mind if I come up there do ya?" Homer asked Maggie.

Maggie stared at him for a moment, almost as if she was sizing him out. Finally she backed away from the entrance and let out the kind of sigh you often heard from a young child who did not want to do something they did not like. "Only because Mom told you to," she finally said.

Homer said nothing and slowly he made his way up the tree hoping that his apology to his youngest daughter would go off easily.

* * *

A/N: I liked writing this chapter; mainly because I feel that I made Homer in character in this. I hope you all liked it. So yeah this chapter is up earlier than I thought it would be, got some papers done faster than I thought. I have no idea how fast the next chapter will be up. Finals are coming and I need to study and do well so I can hopefully graduate in May. Please cross your fingers guys, finals make me so nervous. After my finals are over, I go back to work for the Christmas season, we do have a fun Christmas night light thing at work so I will be busy and I have no idea how often I will update. Also I am going to Florida on New Year's Day and will not return until the 16th of January. When I was there last year, my grandparents had no internet so I probably won't be on at all during that time. I hope I don't leave you all with a cliffhanger.

So yeah that's what the next month will be like so please be patient with me. To my friends who are American, I wish you a happy thanksgiving. Please remember to review and I will see you all in a little over a week.


	5. A Tight Spot

It was rare for Homer to enter the tree house for anything. It had always been the kid's special place for them to hide or have a meeting place with their friends. Sure he had been up there when Marge kicked him out of the house that one time for violating their privacy in the marriage class, and that time when the carneys took over. But since those incidents Homer could not remember any other time up there, and he was glad too. Climbing up a tree was very straining even if it had steps.

Homer soon entered the tree house, huffing and puffing like he had just run a marathon. He lifted himself up and once he had balanced himself he leaned against the side of the wall to catch his breath. Even though it was eleven years since his triple bypass operation, he still never learned to eat right so he still had almost the same frame since that time, maybe a little bigger.

Once Homer caught his breath, he looked around for Maggie. She wasn't the first to catch his eyes; instead he looked at the walls and saw how she had decorated the tree house in her own fashion. Most of the walls had pictures, the same kind of pictures he had often seen when entering Maggie's room to talk to her if he could. They were of that famous biologist who had not been seen or heard from for the past three years. He remembered how upset Maggie was when they announced her missing and presumed dead and how for almost three weeks Maggie barely smiled or laughed. He hated seeing his kids upset like that and he did try to cheer her up, unfortunately he was quickly told to shut up and leave her alone.

Finally Homer followed a trail of posters to the back of the tree house where a large wooden crate sat. There was an old camping light sitting on one side and a few papers here and there on the crate. In front of the crate sat Maggie, her back was facing him, her head down as she looked through a small pamphlet about who knows what. Homer moved forward and as he did so, he realized how much of a confined space he was in. It was so small compared to his room and even the kid's room for that matter. Why the kids found this place to be so much fun he had no idea.

Of course he did build it himself when Bart was six and Lisa was four. He remembered the looks on their faces when he finally revealed the finishing touch of it one August evening. He had started working on it back in May after Bart would not stop playing in the tree and ended up falling from it, breaking his arm and getting a concussion. Marge knew that Bart was not going to quit playing in that tree anytime soon, even after hurting himself like that. Because of the incident, the tree was nearly destroyed. Homer, being the cheap husband that he was, decided that it was a waste of time and money to do so and came up with the idea of building the children a tree house.

It was Homer's one success at being a carpenter and a regular father, he spent all summer building it just for them and he knew he did something right when both Bart and Lisa wanted to spend the night in the tree house the first night it was finished. Of course Marge felt it was safer for him to spend the night with them. He did not remember it being so small that night, perhaps because the kids were so small then and they did not take up so much space, or maybe it was just because he had gotten fatter over the years. Whatever it was it still did not make him feel any braver being up there.

Homer moved toward Maggie, it only took a few steps and as he got closer, the butterflies in his stomach seemed to get heavier. When he finally got close enough to her, he let out a small cough. Maggie turned around and stared up at him an angry gleam in her eyes. Homer tried to show he wanted to make peace and gave her the same smile he gave Marge while he was in the car coming home.

"Are you smiling because you ruined our night, because I did not find it funny at all," said Maggie. Apparently not, and what made it worse was that she was sounding just like Marge.

Homer knew that this was not going to be easy. He tried to remember back eleven years ago when he got into quite a large argument with Lisa after he told her he did not care about her favorite substitute teacher leaving. It went off okay in the end, but he still felt like a fool for even not showing concern for his daughter and how much she loved the man. Maybe though he could talk to Maggie just like he talked to Lisa, but this time, he really could not act like a monkey, Maggie hadn't called him a baboon. And he knew he was at fault, he just didn't know how to say he was sorry.

"No, I'm just nervous," Homer admitted.

"Is it because you know you hurt my feelings or is it because if I don't forgive you, you are sleeping out in the yard?" asked Maggie.

"No it's just that I want to apologize and I'm afraid that you won't accept it," said Homer as he rubbed the back of his neck feeling extremely nervous.

"Well if you get on with it maybe I will," said Maggie her arms crossed and a very angry look on her face.

"Well Maggie, tonight Daddy had a few too many beers…" Homer began.

"Why am I not surprised that you ran off to get drunk, I guess getting drunk is more important than spending time with your youngest daughter who was trying her hardest to get to know you more. Now I have no faith in you," said Maggie there were no tears in her eyes only the look of anger.

"Maggie I really wanted to be with you and I was only going to be there for a half an hour but the guys pressured me, even when I told them I had to see you," said Homer.

"Oh really? If you really wanted to see me you could have walked right out of there, told them you had other plans before this instead of leaving me out there all alone wondering why I have such a loser for a father," said Maggie making sure she emphasized on the word loser causing Homer to cringe.

"But Maggie, I really did try to leave, they just kept pushing me back in," said Homer as he tried his hardest to explain while Maggie only stared straight at him the light from the lantern on the crate hitting her back but shadowing her face.

"You just don't get it do you," she finally said after what seemed like an eternity.

"Of course I do, you wanted me to be there for you like I should have," said Homer.

"No Dad! You don't get it that even agreeing to hanging out with friends for a short time before me is still not a good idea. You could have just waited for me in the car and seen a smile on my face as I made my way to you, and that smile would have stayed there all night as we had the most wonderful time of our lives," said Maggie.

"Maggie I was gonna be there just a little after five-thirty," said Homer hoping to make sense of the situation.

"That's not the point Dad! Even if you did arrive after five-thirty you would have been drunk and then knowing you, you would have messed up our evening just like those many other times, and that includes Bart, Lisa and Mom," said Maggie who had now backed Homer into a corner.

Homer really did not like being in there, it was worse than any interrogation he had ever received, the room felt so tiny as Maggie got closer, telling him how she felt about the whole situation. He could not believe he was being yelled at by his twelve year old daughter and now he had no idea how to fight back. He knew she was right and what she was saying was upsetting him deeply because he knew the worst was yet to come.

"You know what I'm talking about, or do I have to spell it out for you?" asked Maggie.

"Yes I know what you are talking about," said Homer.

"Oh so you can't forget all those other times you ruined a perfectly good evening or day because of your selfishness and thoughtlessness. Remember these Dad? Lisa's graduation party, my tenth birthday slumber party, you and Moms twentieth anniversary, and let's not forget the biggest of them all. You probably don't remember this one Dad because you were so drunk, but it was two years ago when Bart finally got the job of his dreams and opened that comic book store, you remember that right, when Mr. Flanders decided to be the nice neighbor and throw a party for him. You arrived at the party four hours later drunk and…"

"Enough Maggie!" Homer cried nervously.

"Oh so you do remember that time, I guess it's hard to forget now that your own son barely wants to talk to you anymore. I guess it's hard to love someone who ruined one of the best nights of their lives," said Maggie.

"Maggie, will you please stop," said Homer as calmly as he could.

"NO! I want you to listen and understand how I, Bart, Lisa and Mom feel, how you just don't seem to care about our feelings, that's one of the reasons why Lisa left, because you never cared. You know what, I don't think you even care right now, you're just an idiot who would rather do what he wants and not care about what others think because you are selfish and a pompous bastard," said Maggie her eyes glowing with hate.

Homer could not take this abuse any longer. He had been yelled at before by Marge but never like this to any of the kids, not even Lisa. He hadn't even got to say what he wanted and now he had to find a way to silence her so he could talk. He hated the idea of doing it, but he had to.

"MAGGIE! PLEASE!!!" He finally responded in the sternest way he had ever done.

Maggie was about to say something else when Homer yelled at her and she quickly backed away. She had never heard him at this caliber and only stared, surprised that he was standing up for himself.

"Will you please let me talk?" He asked his hands shaking as he said it.

"Sure, let me hear your excuse," said Maggie obviously not fazed much by her father's sudden standing up to himself.

"Sit down, and if you roll your eyes at me I will tell your mother how I tried to talk to you and how you would not listen," said Homer his voice stern making sure that it was his turn to say what he wanted.

"It better be a good excuse then," said Maggie her arms crossed as she sat on the crate.

Homer stood there for a moment, staring at his youngest daughter who had lost all faith in him because of a stupid mistake he made. He was regretting it now that was for damn sure, and he wanted to make this apology better than the one he tried on Bart those two years ago. He did not want to lose faith in Maggie; she was his last hope of becoming the right kind of father, even though he was failing at it at the moment. But one should never give up if they were failing, there is still a chance that things could work out and Homer desperately hoped for that. For a moment he paced around the room before finally taking a deep breath and speaking.

"What makes you think I don't love you?" he finally asked.

"Because you are never there when I want you to be there," said Maggie.

"And I am sorry for that Maggie; I guess I'm not the smartest person when it comes to peer pressure… and the thought of knowing that something tasty will be involved. I just get overly excited, I like having fun and I sometimes forget that I have four important people in my life that I should take care of and love like a father should. But I want you to know something Maggie, something I never told your mother or your sibling's, well part of it I did say to Bart but he was ten so he might have forgotten by now. Do you want to listen?" Homer asked his face showing concern.

Maggie stared at her father, he sounded so sincere at the moment as if all the alcohol he had drunk a few hours before had now left his system. "Yeah," she said quietly.

"I was young and naïve when your brother was born and I was so scared. Your mother and I were not ready to be parents, I was probably the most scared because now I was going to be a father who had to teach my children lessons that I barely knew. I remember the night your brother was born, it was such a long labor and it scared me even more because I was worried that something bad would happen to your mother and I would be a single parent who had to raise him on my own. Luckily your mother did survive and so did your brother, a beautiful little boy who quickly warmed my heart when I looked into those tiny eyes. They told me not to be afraid and that being a father was not as bad as it seemed, it just took a while to get right. The same thing happened when Lisa was born, this time I was more prepared and excited but still a little nervous."

"Finally you came along; you were a surprise really, what made it more crazy was that I had quit working at the Nuclear Plant because I felt I did not need more money than I had. This time I felt like a loser who would not be able to support you and that you had ruined my life by taking away my dream job. I didn't even want to look at you when you were born, until you grabbed my thumb. My heart melted when I saw that tiny little hand, and then I saw a beautiful little girl looking up at me and I knew you didn't ruin my life but gave me a better one. You were mine and that was all that mattered and I want to be there for you as long as I can."

"But why don't you show it?" asked Maggie.

"Because it's what pompous bastards do sometimes, but here is how I would like to prove to you how much I care about your mother and you kids. Did we ever tell you about the time your mother was a police officer?" asked Homer.

"Yeah Mom mentioned it once and told me that I should never try to become one, I don't want to be one any way," said Maggie with a shrug.

"Well good because when your mother became a police officer, I wasn't really into the idea and I told Bart the exact same thing one night when she had to work late. You see Maggie if we ever lost your mother I don't know what I would do with myself, she is everything to me and I know to you kids as well, no one would ever take her place, my life would have no meaning if she died and you kids will be the only ones I would want to see because you would make my day. And then there is the thought of losing one of you, I don't know how I could take it even if it wasn't my fault, I would still feel like it was, and I would never get over your loss. If you children are ever in trouble I would die for you if I have to, that's how much I love you."

Maggie knew that her father was telling the truth, there was no lying behind the tears he was shedding in front of her now. Usually she saw him cry over little random things that made no sense to cry over. But those tears, those tears told her something that she never realized, that her father loved her more than anything. This feeling was now getting to her and she began to cry as well.

"I had no idea," Maggie finally said after a long silence while she tried to wipe the tears away.

"Of course you didn't, us guys are too manly to show our true feelings in front of any one ……unless it's in a tree house," Homer said with a smile.

Maggie gave a tear filled laugh before jumping up to give Homer a hug; Homer embraced his daughter as tears still fell down his face. He really did feel bad about the whole thing and now he wanted to make it up to her and hopefully do something right for once.

"Do you forgive me for what I did?" asked Homer.

Maggie backed away from her father and looked straight at him, she looked like she was about to yell again and Homer braced himself.

"Well what you did wasn't as bad as those other times but it still hurt my feelings," said Maggie.

"I can make up for it, just name something and I will make sure we do something fun together," said Homer with an excited voice.

"Well…" Maggie began as she turned her eyes toward the pamphlet Homer saw her looking at earlier.

"We can go to the beach, we can try to go bowling again, hell we'll even see the movie you want to see," said Homer.

"Actually Dad, I was thinking something completely different," said Maggie.

"You want to meet Eric Idle and build a shrubbery?" Homer asked.

"Ha ha, no Dad, I was thinking of something like this," Maggie said as she grabbed the pamphlet and handed it to Homer.

Homer stared down at the pamphlet Maggie gave him. The front cover was all green with a picture of a raft in the middle of it. At the top the words "RAFT THE AMAZON!" was written in white, and as soon as Homer saw that he looked at Maggie with surprise and worry.

"I don't know Maggie," said Homer.

"But you said…" Began Maggie.

"I said we could do something I don't think this should be it, it costs money to do this and I'm still not over the first rafting adventure I had with Bart eleven years ago," said Homer.

"But Dad, this could be the chance for us to get to know each other, we could bond and have a really great time," said Maggie as she tried her hardest to reveal puppy dog eyes.

It seemed to work enough because Homer stared at her for a long time, thinking about the idea. Sure it sounded great but money was a little tight especially now that he had a DUI and after the time he did it with Bart, he did not want another experience like that. He and Bart nearly died in that adventure and to make matters worse, he was stuck with Ned Flanders in the process. Of course Ned wouldn't be part of this, but what if he got someone more annoying. Was that even possible? Homer did not want to say yes to this, even with Maggie staring up at him like a lost puppy, he knew he had to talk to Marge before saying yes.

"Why don't we ask your mother first," He finally said.

Maggie smiled, it was better than him saying no and knowing her mother, she would probably be all for it. She would have to wait and see though, she was happy she was able to have this talk with her father because now she was closer to him than she ever had been before.

* * *

A/N: First off, big thank you to both bdlywrttn and Calculatedchaos for putting up with me and telling me to keep going even though Chaos acted like a five year old and kept demanding it, I think I provoked him any way though so I guess I get what I deserve. This chapter was hard, even harder than the fight between Marge and Bart in Love Thy Neighbor, I have no idea why either I think it had to do with the fact that I did not want Maggie to sound too mature but who knows. Speaking of Love Thy Neighbor, you might have noticed a line in this chapter similar to one that Bart said to Marge in said chapter, yeah it was probably a dumb idea but I liked it and I wanted to use it again. If you didn't notice then shame on you :P.

Well now comes the time where I must worry about finals so I am going to take about a week and a half long break from this and focus on my studies but I promise I will be back. I have two more slow chapters to go and then they will finally reach the place they need to be, I apologize for that but that's how you set up a good story. In the mean time if you want to get into the holiday spirit, feel free to check out Homer Simpson's Christmas Vacation in my story list, there are probably a lot of errors and goofs but that's because I wrote it in a month back in 2007 but try to ignore them and enjoy that. You can also review, I like hearing from new people no matter how old the story is.

And two more things, check out CalculatedChaos's story Death of a Simpson pretty please, the title probably throws you guys off but it's not what you think it is, it's got Sideshow Bob how can you not read that? He needs attention dammit! And give bdlywrttn some love too, her stories are hiding in the lion king section and in Mulan, she had great stories to tell and she is such a sweet person. She needs attention as well Dammit!

Sorry about the long authors note, I will be back before Christmas so have a nice few weeks before Christmas and remember to review.


	6. What Marge wants

Maggie was the first to open the back door to the house as she and Homer returned from their talk in the tree house. Homer made sure she went through first, just in case Marge was sitting nearby ready to throw him out. As soon as Maggie opened the door though, Marge was nowhere to be seen and the living room light was still out; only Santa's Little Helper was there as he came out from the kitchen. He stared at Maggie and Homer for a moment before wagging his tail and making his way over to let them pet him. Maggie smiled and bent down to give the old dog a hug, he growled softly before Maggie let go of him.

Santa's Little Helper then walked away toward his bed in the corner of the living room next to the fire place, he no longer slept upstairs with the family; the stairs was too straining for him, though sometimes he was often seen at the foot of the stairs as if he was longing to spend time with them

Maggie watched him leave before looking up at Homer as he shut the door behind him. Marge was most likely in the bedroom either reading a book or putting curls into her hair.

"Are you gonna talk to Mom?" Maggie asked.

"I will try, I have no idea how angry she is at me so if you see me on the couch in the morning, you will know why," said Homer with a wink. He was trying to take this problem lightly and hoping his next talk with Marge would go off easy like it just did with Maggie.

"Want me to say something?" asked Maggie.

"No, it's between me and your mother, besides she should believe me that I apologized to you now that I am in the house," said Homer as he made his way up the stairs, Maggie following closely behind.

They reached the top of the stairs and both of them noticed that the main bedroom door was closed, they knew the light was on though by the way it illuminated under the door. Homer moved forward while Maggie went straight to her room, but she didn't go in, she watched from the entrance to her door and waited to find out what would happen.

Homer jiggled the handle and discovered that the door was unlocked. He slowly opened it and looked in. It didn't take him long to find Marge sitting alone on the bed and reading a book. It didn't take her long to look up from what she was reading and glare at Homer.

"Hi honey," he said nervously.

Marge only let out a grunt before looking back down at her book. Homer did not like the sound of that, but knew he had to show that he wanted to make amends.

"Am I allowed to come in?" he asked.

"The doors unlocked," said Marge with a huff.

Homer jumped up at the sound of her voice but quickly made his way in before shutting the door behind him. He stayed by the door though because he was unsure if he should go any further to talk to Marge.

"I……uh…spoke to Maggie," he said as he twiddled his fingers.

"…And?" Marge said never taking her eyes off the book.

"I explained my actions and she accepted it," said Homer in a matter of fact voice.

"That's only because she is twelve and doesn't know that you will most likely do it again, I'm not gonna be fooled by that," said Marge.

"I think she knows Marge, but she still wants to keep trying," said Homer his voice still raised up a pitch because of his nervousness.

"Hrrmmm, I guess she does have my personality," said Marge still looking through the pages of her book.

"But Marge, she wants to try it again, only this time I really can't fail, but I told her I had to ask you first about what she wants to do," said Homer as he made his way closer to Marge and was now standing on the edge of the bed.

Marge took her eyes off the book and stared curiously at Homer, why in the world would her husband ask permission to do something? He rarely ever did this, even if he went out to Moe's he usually went without asking.

"Why would you ask me?" She finally said.

"Because Maggie wants to do this," said Homer as he handed Marge the pamphlet Maggie showed him earlier.

Marge opened up the pamphlet while Homer dressed into his pajamas. Marge looked at the pictures for a moment before reading the information out loud.

"Spend two weeks in the Amazon rainforest by traveling up the Amazon River in a raft. You will first arrive in Iquitos, Peru where you will spend two days discovering the culture of this amazing city. Afterwards you will head down the river where you will spend the nights on the banks of the Amazon watching the stars and enjoying the great outdoors. You will have a chance to see some amazing animals such a caimans, piranha, capybara, monkeys and a wide variety of birds. You will end your trip in the town of Manaus in the center of the Amazon where you will also spend two days there learning about the cultures of that city. Homer this is perfect for Maggie; we never got a chance to do something like this with Bart or Lisa. I think you both should really do it!"

"I think it would be great for us too Marge, but what about the price of it, can we afford that?" asked Homer looking a bit nervous.

"Of course we can, I save most of the money I make working at the community college and you should be too, though now you have that DUI but we can think of something," said Marge looking very excited about the idea.

"But then again you will be all alone, what will you do without us?" asked Homer.

"Oh work can keep me busy and if I get bored I can always visit Ned Flanders, he's lonelier than I ever will be," said Marge.

"Lonely enough to build a Koi pond in his backyard, what are you both gonna go fishing back there?" said Homer in an agitated voice.

Marge simply ignored him. "I wouldn't actually mind doing this but it says fathers only and you two need to get to know each other more anyway."

"But Marge remember that time, I went rafting with Bart and we were lost at sea for almost a week and how we almost died, what if that happens to us again and this time we might not be so lucky," said Homer.

Marge set the pamphlet down on her lap and stared back at her husband, he was asking like he told Maggie, but he also seemed to want to get out of something that was the opportunity of a lifetime.

"Homer, are you hoping that I will say no?" asked Marge her eyebrow raised.

"Only because of my last experience on a raft," said Homer truthfully.

"Well that's too bad because I am saying yes and I am going to pay for this whole trip because I want you both to feel positive about each other. After all…, Maggie is our last," said Marge with a sigh as she gazed at a picture on her nightstand with the three kids. It was taken when Bart was sixteen, Lisa fourteen and Maggie five. All three were standing in front of the St. Louis Arch in Missouri during a summer trip. All three of them looked so happy to be there, enjoying a nice little trip that barely had any slipups, a rare thing to happen when they went out as a family.

"She couldn't make it any easier could she?" sighed Homer. He really wanted to do something that didn't require anything dangerous, they could have gone camping in the backyard, but then again it wouldn't be as exciting.

Marge gave her husband a sly smile. Of course Maggie would not make it any easier, none of the kids could. That's what made life interesting. She watched as Homer made his way to the bathroom and brushed his teeth, neither of them spoke, Marge knew he was thinking everything over, even if he didn't want to go she was going to make him no matter what. He and Maggie needed to bond and that was final.

Homer soon finished brushing his teeth and turned out the light in the bathroom before making his way to his side of the bed. He was about to join Marge when Marge suddenly let out a loud and angry murmur.

"What did I do now?" asked Homer, this time in an annoyed voice.

"I still haven't forgotten about tonight's escapade," said Marge.

"Yeah but Maggie forgives me, everything's fine," said Homer who was about to cover himself up in the sheets when Marge tried to push him off the bed, an amazing feat for someone half Homer's size.

"She may have, but I am still not happy with you. I had to bail you out with my own money and even though I brought you home, I still don't think you should get off easily. You're not sleeping in jail or in the yard, and you're certainly not sleeping with me. It'll be good for you and remind you what you did tonight," said Marge her face looking at him very seriously.

"But Marge, I made up with Maggie, I know I can make up with you, like a nice snuggle," said Homer who lowered his eyes and tried to sound suave.

"Nope, the mood was ruined a few hours ago," said Marge who didn't even look back at him.

Homer sighed. There was no way he could change Marge's mind, it was already made up. It didn't make any sense to him, and probably to many of the men out there who would later hear about his night. Heck maybe even a few women would think Marge was being a little stuck up in this.

Silently, Homer picked up his pillow and without another word, he opened the door and walked out. As he closed the door behind him, he saw a familiar face peeking from her room as well. Apparently Maggie was still trying to figure out what was going on.

"Your Mom said yes, and that is final I don't think she will change her mind," said Homer as he began walking down the stairs.

"Yay this will be exciting Dad, trust me! But what are you doing now?" asked Maggie as she watched her father make his way down the stairs.

"Sleeping on the couch, your Mother said it would be good for me after tonight," said Homer as he disappeared into the living room.

Maggie quickly ran down the stairs and found him setting up the couch before turning on the television. He found a channel that showed an old action movie and sat down to watch. Maggie made her way over and watched him for a minute. He looked upset about tonight's feud with Marge, and Maggie felt a bit sorry for him, of course he did kind of deserve it. Maggie though had forgiven him and knew that he needed to be comforted. He would try to do it for her if something was wrong, of course it rarely ended in a good way, but after tonight's talk it did, and Maggie wanted to make sure he knew.

"Isn't it past your bedtime?" Homer asked in a voice that was more concerned than upset once he noticed that Maggie was standing by the entrance to the living room.

"It's the start of the weekend Dad, I can stay up late, besides it only nine-thirty," said Maggie.

"Shouldn't you be practicing your saxophone then?" asked Homer with a sigh.

"That was Lisa who did that Dad, I don't have her talent," said Maggie as she settled down next to Homer.

"Eh at least tonight will be quiet then," said Homer not taking his eyes off the TV.

"But wouldn't you like to watch a movie with me; after all, you did promise to spend the evening with me. Even though a good portion of it is ruined, that doesn't mean we can't laugh or be filled with suspense for a little while together," said Maggie as she leaned against her father's shoulder.

"You really want to do that?" asked Homer as he looked down at her with surprise.

Maggie simply nodded before grabbing a blanket on the corner of the couch and covering herself and Homer with it. Homer watched her do so before turning back to the TV. Perhaps the night wasn't a total loss after all. He didn't mind that Maggie was with him. Bart used to watch TV with him all the time in the evening, but as the years went by; they grew farther and farther apart. Bart's departure from the house was so sudden, one day Bart was in school and growing up, the next he was living in his own apartment, growing up on his own. It felt weird to have a child leave the house, even weirder once Lisa left. Now he had only Maggie and in a few years time she would be leaving him too. What would it be like without kids in the house? It was such a strange concept and sort of depressing. That's when he realized why it was so important for him to share time with his family; they would only be around for a little while before they had to go out on their own.

Perhaps the idea of white water rafting wasn't as bad as it seemed, nothing as bad as when he went through could happen again, could it? That would probably be one in a million chance. It would be fun he assured himself, and he was with his youngest daughter, the one who could easily forgive him just like that. Yes, this was now something he wanted to do, and this time he wanted to make it memorable for her.

* * *

A/N: Okay this update took longer than I thought, sorry about the long wait, but finals are over and the holidays are here though I am going on vacation starting the 1st. I really wanted to finish this chapter in time for Christmas, give you guys a little gift from me to enjoy. So there you go. I hope you all liked it. I hope to have one more chapter up before I leave for Florida, if that does not happen, you will not see me again until the 16th so keep your fingers crossed, work's been kind of hectic. Oh don't forget about Homer Simpsons Christmas Vacation, a fun little read for the holidays. Yeah I'm advertising, I am terrible.

So once again Merry Christmas! Hope you all have a wonderful week and please review when you can.


	7. The Long Flight

A few months passed before the trip finally approached. For both Celia and Maggie it seemed like an eternity for it to finally happen and of course for both Homer and Riley, it was a never ending barrage of how excited they were about the upcoming trip. Maggie would usually ask Homer what he planned on packing and if he was excited yet, while Celia would ask Riley if he was nervous about whitewater rafting more times than he could count. Homer and Riley really could not wait for the trip to be here just so their daughters would stop with their silly questions.

But the wait was finally over a week after school was let out for summer break. Marge brought Homer and Maggie to the airport and helped them bring their bags in to the terminal where the group was waiting. It was a nice group size for such an expensive and dangerous vacation but apparently this club liked adventure. In total there were eighteen club members going on the expedition, ten boys and eight girls. All the dads seemed a little nervous about this, but they were also excited to do something different with their son or daughter.

"Now Maggie, you remembered your toothbrush right?" Marge asked as she raced after Maggie with her daughter's suitcase in hand.

"Yeah mom," Maggie said as she kept her eyes forward toward the group.

"Bug spray?" Marge asked.

"Yeah," said Maggie.

"Clean underwear?" Marge asked in a rather loud voice since Maggie was now farther ahead.

"Marge, she's twelve she knows how to pack," said Homer as he tried to keep up himself. Marge was doing better than him; he was huffing and puffing like he had just run a marathon.

"Well as a mother I think it's best to know that her daughter needs all the provisions she needs," said Marge as she set the suitcase down now that they finally reached the group.

Maggie instantly made her way over to Celia who was busy conversing with another club member named Anne about some of the food customs they heard about. Homer and Marge only watched, both were not ready to say goodbye to each other at the moment. They still had a few more minutes before everyone arrived, so it was good to stand in silence together before they had to go their separate ways.

"Hello there Mr. Simpson," a voice called from a few feet away.

Marge and Homer turned to see Celia's father Riley sitting with his other daughter Paige and a few suitcases. Homer looked at Riley curiously before turning to Marge with a confused face. Marge instantly knew what Homer was thinking.

"That's Celia's father Riley Post, you've met him at the kids birthday parties and sleepovers," said Marge.

"I thought he crashed in plane in Alaska years ago," Homer whispered.

"That was Wiley Post and Will Rogers," said Marge as she tried to hold her frustration in.

"Oh yeah," said Homer who then turned to Riley. "So you never met a man you didn't like eh?" It wasn't hard to see Marge do a face palm a few seconds later.

"Uhhhh…… well maybe a few Mr. Simpson, you should remember me we met a few years back at the elementary schools Christmas party," said Riley.

Homer looked at Riley with that blank face he always gives when he forgets something. There was a long pause that left both Riley and Marge feeling a bit uncomfortable until Homer finally spoke up. "Oh I remember that, those sandwiches were great, and please call me Homer because I have already forgotten your last name."

"I will do that Homer, I hope you don't mind if we share seats together since I believe you are the only father I know," said Riley.

"Nah, as long as you don't mind my snoring," said Homer as he nudged Riley a little roughly on the shoulder.

"And I promise I won't crash the plane," Riley joked as he rubbed his sore shoulder.

Short talk was made as Homer started to remember more about Riley and Marge even struck up a conversation with Paige who was going to stay home through all this. She was seventeen so she was old enough to take care of herself. Marge offered to keep her company but Paige said she was fine and that her grandparents were around if she needed anything. Before they could finish talking, Jeremy called everyone over with a friend of his named Brandon who would take the place of Todd Flanders during the trip.

"Alright everyone listen up, this is going to be a long flight, we do have to switch planes in Dallas later tonight but after that we will fly down to Iquitos and land around ten in the morning. Here are all your tickets, I suggest you all have a buddy system with you; four are good, two friends and two dads. I see everyone is here now too so we need to start moving, our plane leaves in less than two hours," said Jeremy.

At the sound of that, everyone began to gather their belongings and followed Jeremy and Brandon toward the security checkpoint. This was where most of the mothers said goodbye to their children and husbands as they set off to be away from them for two weeks. Maggie ran to get in line with Celia and Riley while Homer said goodbye to Marge. Marge had the look of worry on her face and it looked as if she did not want to be parted by her husband or daughter. She would be the only one in the house save for the dog who never did much now any more.

"Be careful out there Homer," said Marge.

"Don't worry Marge I have a smart kid with me and I will be back before you know it," said Homer who then embraced Marge with the biggest kiss he could give while Marge tried to do the same. Maggie and Celia both looked on in disgust. Riley smiled, mainly because his daughter and Maggie were making such a big fuss about it.

"See that kids, they are expressing their concern over their parting physically, one day you will be doing that with your husband," said Riley.

"Ugh I hope not that physically," said Celia as she stuck out her tongue.

"Dad, stop eating Mom and let's go," said Maggie.

Homer only rolled his eyes as he tried to ignore them, he would not be seeing his wife for two full weeks. Not something most married couples liked, she would be sleeping alone and so would he, it would be the longest he had been away from her since the time Maggie was seven when he had to go to a safety inspector convention in New York for a week and a half. It was torture, mainly because of all the meetings and of course because he was alone in the hotel room. Finally, once he was satisfied with his goodbye, he made his way to the line where Maggie stood waiting. Marge watched them go with concern in her eyes until she could no longer see them among the crowd of travelers, her youngest was going to have an adventure and she hoped that she would do it safely without any problems. Finally she turned around and headed home where she would be alone for what seemed like a very long two weeks.

* * *

The first flight to Dallas was short and uneventful, everyone read a book, or in Homer's case listened to songs on the flights many songs they offered. The layover in Dallas lasted two hours before they finally took off later in the evening. They would not land in Iquitos until around seven in the morning.

Even though it was still late when they got on the plane, Maggie and Celia were still very excited and kept talking about the adventures they would have while Homer and Riley listened.

"Do you think we will see any of those poisonous frogs?" asked Celia.

"I don't see how we couldn't, they are found all over the Amazon," said Maggie.

"Well as long as I don't accidentally touch one before I see it," said Celia remembering how poison dart frogs were known to kill with just a few ounces of poison just by touching them and then forgetting to wash your hands afterward.

"But you know what would be even worse?" whispered Maggie.

"What would that be?" asked Celia with a concerned look on her face.

"Running into a giant spider web and being eaten by a giant spider like that one in those movies that almost ate Frodo. And then your whole body becomes paralyzed and your mouth begins to froth, and then the spider sucks out your juices and you die without even realizing it," said Maggie in a very fast voice.

Celia, Riley and Homer both stared at Maggie for a moment, thinking about what she had just said. Finally Celia broke the silence.

"Ewwwwwwww!" she said.

"Boy do they have imaginations," said Riley.

"No kidding," said Homer. "Though Maggie did give me an even worse description of what would have happened if we did not get malaria shots."

"Oh what did she say?" asked Riley.

"Uh, what was it……," thought Homer as he stroked his chin. "Maggie what was it you told me about Malaria?"

Maggie looked at her father with a curious face for a moment, she had almost forgotten about the little explanation she gave her father while in the waiting room waiting for their shots. It definitely convinced him to take them, so now she was more than happy to repeat herself. "First you start to barf all over the place while at the same time developing chills and a horrible sweat so you are basically hot and cold which is just weird, I have no idea how that works but if one of us forgot then we will see. Then you have really bad breathing problems, they are so bad that it feels like you have something growing inside your lungs so it feels like needles every time you breathe and you just want to die but can't because you are still breathing even though it hurts and it's an involuntary reflex. Then the whites of your eyes get all yellow because your liver has failed. Then you finally go into a coma, get all shaky for a few hours, and then you die. But it takes almost a week to die but because of the symptoms it feels like years."

"Wait don't forget the painful swelling……er uh you know," said Celia as she tried to whisper the last part.

"Oh you mean on the nose?" asked Maggie.

"No, just down there…… well for a guy at least," said Celia.

"Oh yeah and then your toes swell for who knows how long," said Maggie with a grin.

"Maggie! Not that far below the belt!" said Celia.

Maggie only gave a sly smile as if she was using another word for a certain body part. Celia instantly figured it out and also gave a sly smile while Homer and Riley both looked at their daughters, mortified that they would even know such a thing.

"Celia, you're too young for that," said Riley.

"Yeah who told you this Maggie?" asked Homer.

"The internet, even the safe places aren't as safe as you think," said Celia.

"Yeah, though we still don't care for boys, they are still smelly and immature," said Maggie.

"They don't have cooties, just really bad breath that would keep anyone from kissing them," said Celia as she pinched her nose at the thought of it.

"Thank God, I guess," said Riley as he rolled his eyes.

There was a momentary silence afterward as Maggie and Celia wondered what to talk about next. Both of them were still very excited and not the least bit tired but now they were out of random things to tell their fathers about. Maggie decided to rummage through the seat pocket in front of her and pulled out one of those air magazines that sold different kinds of items that no one really needed. She flipped through them with Celia and both joked about how stupid some of the items were.

"Hey Dad, how would you like a mini coke machine for your room?" asked Maggie.

"Had one once, your mother didn't like it so I gave it to Flanders for his bar bi ques," said Homer.

"What about a meerkat sculpture for the backyard Dad?" Celia asked as she held up a page that had all sorts of random sculptures for the backyard.

"No Celia, dogs like to mark their territory with those," said Riley a little annoyed.

"Ooh how about a giant orange barrier to keep us from running into the street," said Maggie as she giggled at the picture.

"Oh no! I don't know where the street is maybe I will cross this black thing right here and find out," said Celia who was giggling even harder than Maggie was.

Of course both fathers now lived in house with two girls dominating them, but out of both of those, one was at least quiet and did their own thing. Now to have two twelve year old girls laughing and giggling about things when both fathers were exhausted was sort of annoying. But they would have to get used to it during the two weeks they were down there but not right now, not when they had been carrying heavy loads to and from terminals teaming with millions of other people earlier. Plus they were in a tight and uncomfortable spot and other people wanted things to be quiet as well. Finally Homer took the magazine away from Maggie while Riley took out his credit card to pay for the movies that they had on the video screens in front of them.

"Okay you two behave and watch whatever movies you guys want to watch, Mr. Simpson and I are going to try and get some sleep, you both should too but somehow you are both a little hyper," said Riley.

"That's because we are excited Dad," said Celia.

"Yeah we've never been to a place this exciting, haven't you guys been to a place this exciting?" asked Maggie, her eyes lit up like saucers.

"I used to be when I first did those business trips when you were younger, but then after a while all the trips felt the same," said Riley.

"Yeah, plus we are old, these chairs aren't very comfortable," said Homer as he tried to adjust himself on the seat.

Both Maggie and Celia looked at their fathers with disappointment on their faces. But if they had to be quiet, it was probably for the best. Maggie looked up around the plane to find the rest of the group, most were watching a movie and a few of them were playing video games, none of them acting too crazy like they were. Of course Maggie and Celia were the sillier of the club members, but no one hated them for it since it livened up the group.

"Alright we'll watch a movie for you," said Maggie as she sat back down.

Homer smiled at Maggie and watched as she and Celia picked out a movie to watch for the time being. He wasn't too tired yet so he decided to watch a short movie as well. Riley also stayed awake but read a book he had brought with him for the trip.

Two hours later, most of the passengers on the plane had fallen asleep. Some were still up pulling all nighters and watching as many movies as they could. Some were just now finishing up their games and settling in for sleep, while others were trying to sleep, but since they were in a strange new place their body had not yet adjusted to the surroundings. Riley was one of these people, but it was not because his body had not yet adjusted to the surroundings, it was because his seat mate was snoring louder than any person he had ever heard before.

He stared at Homer who had his head titled back and his hands on his stomach as if he was in the most comfortable position in the world. There was a small trickle of drool falling down his chin and his nose was vibrating thanks to the loud snore that was emanating from the deepest recesses of his respiratory system. It almost didn't sound human.

Riley looked over at Maggie and Celia to see if they were awake. Celia was sleeping with her head against the window, apparently Homer's annoying snoring did not reach that far over there, but it did for Maggie. She had her head resting on the back of the seat in front of her and a pillow wrapped tightly around her head, it did not look like she was sleeping so Riley leaned over and tapped her on the shoulder lightly.

Maggie lifted her head and looked at Riley with an annoyed face, one that seemed to tell him she had been through this before.

"What do I do?" asked Riley wondering if he should wake Homer.

"I wouldn't wake him because he will fall back asleep and do it again, so its best just to let it run its course, usually takes about an hour," said Maggie.

Riley let out a sigh of annoyance while Maggie went back to covering herself up with a pillow. Riley only sat there, wishing he had some breathe right strips in his bag that would silence it a bit, heck he would be willing to look down the aisle for anyone who had a pack, but since everyone was sleeping he thought it was best not to bother anyone. For now he would just wait it out and hope that sooner or later he would get some sleep.

* * *

A/N: Well there is chapter 7 for you and that is the end of them being in the United States. Now it's time for things to start happening and hopefully this will mean people will finally review again. I mean seriously, I only got one review last time where did everyone go? You all must have went on vacation for Christmas like I am about to do for New Years. It is now time for me to run off to Florida where I will spend two weeks enjoying myself. I will return on the 16th and I will be writing while I am there so I will update as soon as I get back. Or I might just update while I am there, depends on whether or not I find the internet.

Well that's all I have for now, so happy New Year! See you all in a few weeks. Please review when you can.


	8. Iquitos

Homer, Maggie, Celia and Riley both entered the hotel room that they would be spending the night in, it was a much larger hotel room than what they were used to. It had four beds for all four of them. Twin sized so not very big, especially for Homer who knew that it would not be as comfortable because of his size.

The bathroom was in the far back, still hidden by a wall like many hotel bathrooms were. There was a TV set near the two sets of beds near the bathroom and a small refrigerator near a closet that most likely held some alcoholic beverages, probably some non alcoholic beverages as well but Riley hoped the kids would not explore and find out. Celia was known for asking for the little things in there.

"So which bed do you want girls?" Riley asked as he continued to look around the room.

"We'll take these two beds, that way we can watch TV together," said Celia.

"But you won't have time for TV, besides we are in Peru and everyone speaks Spanish here," said Riley as he turned on the TV. The first channel he got was a news station, the local anchor was talking about something that happened in Lima but his language was so fast none of them could understand it. Riley tried another station, this time it was a channel with half naked women dancing in some kind of show. Homer and Riley both stared.

"Dad?" Maggie asked worriedly.

"Not now honey go to your room," said Homer as he waved her away.

Maggie only rolled her eyes as she and Celia both emptied their suitcases to see if everything was still in order. As they did so, they heard a knock at the door which also distracted Riley and Homer from their momentary trance. It was Jeremy and he looked like he was already ready to go.

"I trust everything is in order in here?" he asked with a concerned face.

"Yup, everything looks fine," said Maggie, she could already tell that both Riley and Homer were still stunned by the TV.

"Very good, just thought I let you all know that I will let you have about two hours to get settled, take a shower after the long trip, take in a quick nap, whatever you want. But at five we meet at the restaurant across the street and I will give you the details about what the plans will be. Does that sound alright?" asked Jeremy.

"…Sure sounds…great," said Homer as he looked back at Jeremy still awed by what he was watching.

Jeremy stared at Homer and Riley, the TV was pointed the other way so he had no idea what they were watching, he turned to Maggie with a quizzical face. "Uh…are those two okay?"

"Culture shock," Maggie said as she rolled her eyes.

Ah…..I see," said Jeremy with a confused look before running out to tell the rest of the group the plans for the evening.

Homer and Riley continued to stare at the TV, the lovely ladies seemed to be almost hypnotizing them. Celia tried to wave her hand in front of her father but he did not respond. It would be several more years before they realized that these two were just lusting and that those women were doing what they were doing for that purpose, not just for entertainment. Finally Maggie pried the remote from her father's hand and quickly turned off to the TV. A moment later, both fathers shook themselves out of a trance and turned to Maggie and Celia.

"What's going on now?" Homer asked.

* * *

Two hours went by before Homer, Riley, Celia and Maggie made their way across the street to what looked like a sleepy restaurant called The Brown Llama. It seemed very modest on the outside until they made their way in, the restaurant was lit up to suit the Peruvian culture, near a wall a small group of Peruvian musicians played their best music, while all around them there were images from the mountains and the coast.

"Hola!" a young waitress said as they moved further into the restaurant.

"Uh…hula," said Homer with a smile, Maggie only slapped herself.

"Uh, group come in yes?" Riley asked in broken English, believing that the waitress didn't understand it.

"Oh yes, they are on the top floor, would you like to me to escort you?" she asked in perfect English.

"Y-Yeah, it's probably best not to get lost in here," said Riley, sounding a bit embarrassed while he adjusted his shirt collar.

"Good, follow me," said the waitress.

The little group followed her up a flight of stairs before she waved them into a large room to the right where Jeremy and Brandon were already waiting along with most of the group. Celia and Maggie picked a spot near some of their friends so they could talk for a bit while Homer and Riley followed as they still stared at the décor around the room.

It wasn't long though before everyone in the group arrived and Jeremy silenced everyone as he began to speak about upcoming events.

"I hope everyone is well rested after that nice two hour break. As most of you know, our package deal said two days in Iquitos, now today they are counting as one of the days so you may go out and enjoy the scenery but don't stay out too late, you still have a big day to see what you want tomorrow as well. I suggest a lovely park just a few miles down here for the nighttime activity, tomorrow the cultural center. The next day we will meet in the lobby at nine am where we will take a bus to the other side of town and meet on the Amazon. From there we will be rafting for a good week and a half so be prepared. Now that I have told you almost everything we have two meal selections. You may either try the Cuy, or the special lemon salsa chicken. I for one prefer the chicken but of course I am not as daring as some of you. But feel free to try the Cuy; I have been told it is pretty good."

"So which one are you girls having?" asked Riley.

"Chicken," said Celia.

"Yeah chicken," said Maggie with a nod.

"Not gonna try Cuy eh?" asked Homer.

Both girls shook their heads, so did Riley, apparently whatever kind of mystery meat it was did not appeal to any of them, but Homer was feeling adventurous, and went ahead and ordered it. Maggie and Celia had no idea whether they should laugh or be mortified by the idea and Homer noticed this, yet they would not tell him what it was, they wanted to see what he would think of this Peruvian delicacy.

The food arrived quicker than they had expected. The chicken actually arrived first, sitting on a delicious bed of rice and some extra spices for anyone to try if they felt bold or daring enough o actually try it. Then the other dish arrived.

At first Homer was not sure what to make of the strange meal that sat before him, it was definitely exotic that he was sure of, but because of what it was, he was not sure if he had lost his appetite or if his stomach was willing.

"Uh Maggie?" he said nervously.

"Yes Dad?" Maggie answered while still laughing with Celia because of how Homer was looking at his meal.

"Umm, do they just eat rats off the street here or something?" Homer asked.

"That's not a rat," said Maggie in a matter of fact voice.

"What is it then?" Homer asked as he surveyed the roasted rodent with his knife, searching around for a piece that looked the least bit edible.

"You remember Henry right?" Celia asked.

"Oh no, it's not a dog is it?" asked Homer now looking very ashamed.

"Oh no Dad, we would have stopped you from ordering if it was a dog, but what Celia is talking about is her pet Guinea Pig. You remember when he got loose in our house one time when Celia brought it over and Santa's Little Helper broke half of mom's fine china while chasing it?" Maggie asked, making it sound like it was from some sort of movie they had watched.

"Oh yeah that time, remember how Mom told you to go back to Celia's place?" asked Homer.

"Yeah," said Maggie.

"Yeah, that was not a good night for me," said Homer.

"Ugh, slept on the couch eh?" asked Riley.

"Unfortunately," said Homer as he poked the simmering Guinea Pig before looking back at Maggie with a both annoyed and unhappy face.

"So are you gonna try it?" she asked.

* * *

Two hours later, after Homer decided on the more feathered variety, the little group of four gathered outside of the restaurant with a few other members discussing their plans for the evening. Homer and Riley were more interested in the idea of simply going back to the hotel room and straight to bed, but not Maggie and Celia who were both willing to explore near the hotel for about a block. Three other group members were willing to join them too, they were Anne, Lee, and probably the youngest and smallest of the entire group, a ten year old named Haley.

There was much debating about whether or not the fathers should let their children out on a strange street. Maggie and Celia were both alright with a father coming along to keep them safe throughout the short exploration, but not Lee. Lee was always the one who was willing to try things by himself and his comments were clearly evident when he told his father how tough he was and how he could easily protect the four girls he was with. Lee's father discussed this with the four other fathers about this for a good ten minutes before all five of them reached an agreement, they would have to return to the hotel by nine or Homer was going after them. The only reason Homer was going after them was because he looked to be the toughest father of the bunch and as if he was the one who could easily knock down a dangerous criminal. Homer was not sure if he was proud or nervous about the idea, but at least the fathers wanted his help.

So once the debate was settled, Lee led the way through the street with the four girls hot on his heels. As mentioned before, Maggie and Celia did not have much interest in him as a cute guy, but Anne sure did and it was apparent when she followed him, Celia could hear her swooning.

But it was really not anything to be bothered about, Anne had a crush on Lee and that was that. Lee did not seem to notice because he was too busy looking around for something to do or something to see that they were not familiar with in the states.

They went around a corner of the street and as soon as they did so, they could hear the sounds of laughter and merriment coming from a brightly lit corridor. Lee turned to the girls who all stared back at him with curious eyes.

"Do you think we can be invited?" asked Lee.

"We can always find out," said Maggie.

Then without a second thought, the little group made their way toward the sounds of laughter and fun. It wasn't long before they found themselves standing in a large square. Against the walls there were little vendors selling food, jewelry and other items and in the middle there were people all around dancing and playing Peruvian music that the kids had heard before. They saw all the instruments used, from the flute, the pan flute, the guitar, the ocarina, and even a few drums and bongos. The Peruvians followed the beat well and after a while of listening, the five kids all began to tap their feet to the lovely sounds.

"Hey I think I see an ice cream vendor over there," said Maggie as she pointed toward one corner of the square.

"They have ice cream in Peru?" Haley asked.

"They have ice cream in every country and they all have different ways of making them," said Anne.

"Oooh I wonder what kind of flavors they have," said Lee.

"Well let's stop wondering and lets go find out," said Maggie as she moved her way through the crowds toward the vendor. As soon as they arrived, they knew they came to a good place because there were wall to wall people asking for all sorts of flavors. The five kids stared at the menu and were surprised by certain kinds of flavors they had to offer.

"Well I know one flavor is good and that's the chocolate one," said Haley.

"But don't you want to try something different?" asked Maggie.

"I don't know, I only brought a certain amount of cash and I don't want to waste it on anything I won't like," said Haley.

Maggie stared back at Haley; she was known to be one of the few who were always nervous to try new things. She had met her dad before and he was a bit of a tightwad, and it was surprising that he agreed to go on this trip. So Maggie knew that Haley was being careful and decided on an idea.

"How about this, I'll get the lucuma flavor and I will let you try that so you can see if you want a different flavor," said Maggie.

"Yeah you can try mine too, I'm gonna try the passion flower," said Celia.

"And I am gonna be bold and try the hot flavor, you can try it but I don't know how your tongue will feel about that," said Lee.

"I'll be trying the orchard, so yeah if you are nervous I agree that it's good to try samples," said Anne.

Haley thought this was a great idea and before long, all five were sitting on a small bench nearby listening to music and watching the people dance the night away. Haley decided to get the lucuma; she found it to be very sweet and tasting almost like chocolate. And the other four loved the flavors they tried, even Lee who ended up sucking up as much air as he could to get the hot feeling out of his mouth. Definitely a strange new flavor but one that was so worth the try.

Once the five had finished their ice cream, they moved through the square some more, looking at all the different kinds of vendors and admiring some of the homemade items the many people had for sale.

Anne ended up buying a lovely ring made out of topaz that was in the shape of an oval while the ring had two thin bands twisting and curving around each other to make a lovely pattern. It was a ring that definitely fit Anne in her looks, and it wasn't too noticeable so it was the perfect little ring. Haley ended up buying a cheap little necklace with a small square shaped piece of amber on it. Maggie ended up buying a lovely ocarina and Celia bought a stuffed llama that she found to be very cute. Lee ended up buying a pan flute since he loved playing those sorts of instruments; it had been that way since he was ten.

Finally once they were done seeing all the vendors, Lee lead the way once again to a park right next to the square. Once they walked deeper into the park, the music began to die down and a new sound was heard among the quiet landscape.

"Do I hear water?" asked Celia.

"Sure sounds like it, come on guys lets go see what it is," said Lee.

The girls followed him until they came across an embankment and there before them, flowed a river. It was moving steadily and the water sound they heard had come from the rocky outcrops where they water flowed down a few feet away. These weren't any big rapids and the children could have easily waded around in it.

"Do you think it's the Amazon?" asked Maggie.

"Looks like it, it's big enough," said Anne.

Celia bent down on the bank and felt the water; it was the perfect temperature, almost like lukewarm bathwater. Silently she got back up and took her shoes off before putting her feet into the water. The slowly flowing river moved between her legs and it felt very comfortable.

"Careful Celia, don't forget about the piranhas," said Maggie with a small grin.

"Oh I bet those things are in the deeper part, besides I can see my feet and if I see a piranha I can move out of here fast," said Celia.

"But what about electric eels?" asked Haley.

Celia looked down at the water nervously, a stick moved by and that was enough to scare her and cause her to jump out of water and run straight into Maggie. Maggie let out a squeal before grabbing Celia by the arm and pushing her back toward the water. Celia screamed before landing on the shallow side of the water, getting everything from the waist down very wet.

Maggie walked forward and stood above her laughing. "Scared ya didn't I?"

Celia only stared at her with an annoyed face, until Maggie suddenly lurched forward and fell face first into the water. Maggie jumped back up as soon as she could and turned to find the culprit, all of them looked like they had no part in it, until Haley gave her a sly smirk. Maggie let out an angry grumble and ran straight at Haley who also screamed before Lee grabbed her and threw her right into the water.

It wasn't long before all five were in an all out water war, pushing each other into the water, having a grand old time and forgetting about time in general. It wasn't long before all five were interrupted by an angry grumble coming from the bank.

The five children stopped what they were doing and looked toward the bank. There in front of them stood Homer, his arms crossed and not looking too happy about the whole situation.

"I had to dance with several strange people while looking for you in that square over there, you are lucky I even thought about checking the park," Homer said.

"Sorry Dad, we were just having too much fun," said Maggie as she dragged herself out of the water, her clothes dripping wet. The other four followed suit, all of them looking like they had already fallen out of a raft that they would be going on in a few days.

"Well I'm just glad you're safe, you have no idea how dangerous this place can be, even for young kids like you, now let's get back to the hotel and change into some dryer clothes," said Homer.

As he said this, Maggie turned to the others and gave a big wink. All four of them knew what Maggie wanted and before Homer could even react, he found himself on his bottom in ankle deep water. All five kids laughed at him, while at the same time, he began to wonder how they were even able to push him so easily, it must have been the long plane ride that now made him want a soft bed more than anything.

"Sorry Dad, we thought you should join the club," said Maggie.

Homer was too tired to say anything back, his daughter was just happy to be in South America and she could act goofy once in a while. There was no use punishing her for that. "Consider me joined," he finally said.

Finally the five wet kids and the exhausted parent, who was just as wet, made their way back to the hotel where it would be warm and dry. Together they would sleep soundly and dream of what they would hopefully see in the few days to come.

* * *

A/N: Boring chapter is boring, I apologize, I promise my next chapters will be so much more interesting. Yeah now that this chapter is done, things are gonna get interesting, people are gonna get in trouble and other things I cannot say or I will ruin the excitement. So please don't give up on me or I will be forced to delete this story and make both Bdlywrttn and Calculated Chaos very cranky. Rawr! Also my updates will probably be very sporadic due to college, I would love to graduate someday.

Oh and the Cuy Homer was grossed out by is pronounced Coo ee, it is a real dish in Peru, I saw both Andrew Zimmerin and Jeff Corwin eat it. Yeah those two are insane.

Well please review and I will see you all soon.


	9. Up The River

Maggie stood on the bank of the Amazon, watching as Jeremy and a few raft guides dragged their rafts to the shore and set them on a place where they would not float away. Beside her stood Homer, Riley and Celia who were busy trying to straighten out their life vests that had somehow become horribly tangled.

"Who in the world used these last?" Riley asked in an annoyed voice as he flipped one side of the life vest hoping to get it untangled.

"I don't know, whoever they were, they apparently threw them into a tree or something," said Homer as he stared at his. He had tried to untangle it several times and was now simply frustrated.

"Maybe we can wear them tangled, I just saw Shawn put his on like that," said Maggie as she looked at hers and noticed that only one side of her life vest was a bit tangled.

"I'll bet one of the guides will tell him to fix it though," said Riley as he had finally figured out that his was in the proper position.

Riley quickly put his on so it would not get tangled up again and turned to Celia to see how she was progressing. Homer on the other hand still fought with his while Maggie quickly fixed her problem and then grabbed Homer's vest and did a quick loop with it before returning it to him.

"What are you, a twister machine?" asked Homer who was annoyed but grateful that his daughter finally fixed the problem for him.

Once all their life vest troubles were over, they began the task of putting important gear into the rafts where it would be appropriate for them to be stored. Then the four made their way over to Jeremy where he was waiting with Brandon and three other tour guides so they could start the rafting trip.

They had actually been one of the last groups to make their way over so it wasn't long before Jeremy began another speech about what was to come.

"So here we are finally after a long wait to do what many of us had wanted to do forever. Now this is very important so please listen carefully since we will not be stopping again until at least around lunchtime. Please wear your headgear, this area may look tame but you never know when we come across some rapids, they do pop up in sudden places and if you do fall overboard, you won't have to worry about a cracked skull. The life vests are important too, they help you float and you can easily get back on the raft. Please be careful when putting your hands in the water, piranhas love fingers and Edwardo here can show you what I mean by that."

Maggie and Celia watched as Jeremy lifted the tour guide Edwardo's left hand to reveal two missing fingers and one half a finger. All the kids in the group let out a surprised and scared gasp. Homer only stared back with shock.

"We will be in Peru all day today and we will not cross into Brazil until tomorrow afternoon. Then for the rest of the trip we will be in Brazil and the rainforest will start becoming lusher later in the week so we might see lots of creatures along the banks. Please be careful if you have to stop and relieve yourself, try to be closer to the open so as a jaguar won't be the first to see you if we lose sight of you. Other than that, have fun and sometimes our guides here will try and stop and tell us the history of the area so watch out for them, we don't want too many people overboard at once. So now that I have given you all the information you need, here is Augustin to talk about safety, once he is finished, we can get moving."

The safety lecture seemed to drag on forever, and after a while both Maggie and Celia decided that it would be more fun to sit on the ground and play tic tac toe, listening every now and again to make sure that the guide knew they were listening. They were not the only ones who were bored though, they had seen Lee pick up a few pebbles and throw them into the water where they would bounce off and create hypnotic ripples that some of the club members would stare at. Some of the parents too were a bit bored, Homer was no exception and after a while he began to daydream mostly about Marge, he was already starting to miss her.

The lecture was finally over about forty five minutes later and the group quickly made their way to the rafts, glad to finally get their adventure off the ground and into the watery adventure they had been waiting for. Maggie was the first into the raft, setting up with where she wanted to be, in the front with Celia next to her. Homer and Riley would be in the back, paddling as best they could. Maggie and Celia had both been on a rafting trip with Riley before. Both paddled the whole way while Riley stood in the back watching them and making sure they were careful and went the correct way. It was a lot of fun and by the end of the trip; the two friends were almost experts.

About a half an hour later, once the city was out of sight, the club found themselves surrounded by the Amazon on both sides. With great excitement Lee lifted his paddle and let out a happy holler, causing the rest of the club to follow suit, even Maggie and Celia. Homer only watched surprised that the children could cause such a ruckus.

"I bet you never expected to find yourself on something like this, eh Homer?" asked Riley as he paddled along.

"Not since I did it with Bart last, I told him never to ask me to take him on a rafting adventure again. I would have said no to Maggie but Marge insisted and you know how wives are, always believing that it's best to send your children on a trip of a lifetime. But I guess this is a good thing, after all Maggie and I need to bond, it's rare to see us both out together," said Homer as he tried to paddle as well, apparently he wasn't doing well because a moment later, Maggie turned to him with a sour face.

Homer stared back, at first he thought it was because he was talking about her, but then Celia turned around as well.

"What?" he finally asked.

"I wanted to be a bit farther up ahead Dad, but you're making it difficult," said Maggie.

"How am I making it difficult?" asked Homer.

"Paddle the other way please," said Maggie in a matter of fact voice.

Homer looked at how he was paddling and then at Maggie and Celia, apparently he was trying to lead them backwards. Homer grinned at both of them sheepishly before setting himself up to move in the right direction. A hard thing to do after getting used to paddling the other way.

"Remember move with the current, bring your paddle back and then lift it out of the water for another go," said Riley who was trying to help Homer out.

"I know how to do it, it's just been a while," said Homer trying to sound confident in himself.

Finally after much thinking about what he was doing, Homer finally got the hang of it, but not before getting the paddle tangled up in some floating debris. Homer was getting quite excited now that he was doing it the way the kids wanted him to, so of course he was not paying attention to the floating debris until it was too late. As soon as Homer lifted the paddle out of the water, it quickly sunk back into the floating debris, causing Homer to nearly fall out of the raft as he tried to bring it back up.

"Little help here guys," said Homer as he leaned against the raft.

Maggie turned around and rolled her eyes at him before bring the raft closer to the debris so Homer could bring his paddle to the surface. Once they were close enough Homer pulled with all his might, but the paddle was really tangled and quite stuck.

"Need help there Homer?" asked Riley.

"No I think I got it, give me a second," said Homer as he pulled again.

Finally Homer was able to get a steady grip on his paddle and a second later the paddle flew out of the debris, and wacked Homer hard in the face along with some weeds and sticks that quickly engulfed his head. There was a long moment of silence as Homer lay there on the raft, not making any noise, Maggie stopped what she was doing and shook his arm.

"Dad you okay?" she asked.

Then without warning, Homer suddenly jumped up and screamed, "Ahhhhhh Kelpies!!"

"Dad, calm down its just river weeds," said Maggie as Riley grabbed Homer so he could pull the weeds off him.

"Yeah but they're slimy and gross," said Homer as he acted like a five year old with a pouty face.

"And look what you brought on the raft with you," said Celia as she bent down and picked up a young arrowana fish, only about two inches long. The fish began to flop back and forth in Celia's hand as she made her way to the edge of the raft.

She threw it into the water, but it did not stay in there long before a dolphin suddenly leapt to the surface with the fish in its mouth.

"Hey I just fed a Boto!" said Celia happily.

"Where?" Maggie asked as she quickly left her father's side to see a creature she had only seen in nature books.

Celia pointed to the pink dolphin that made its way over toward the other rafters, where about four other dolphins were mingling around them and everyone was watching with great enthusiasm. Maggie and Celia both began to paddle toward the group while Homer only sat there nursing his pride and getting as much of the smelly river weeds off him.

They arrived just in time to hear one of the guides, Luis, give the club some interesting information about the river dolphins that were swimming around them.

"As you can see, they are very different from the dolphins you see in those aquariums you visit. They have much longer snouts and their eyes are smaller because Amazon water can be quite murky so their echolocation is much more useful when finding their prey. As you can see they are also very curious will survey us for a while before they decide to move on."

"Don't forget about those legends," said Brandon as he nudged Luis on.

"Oh yes, there is a saying among the tribes of the Amazon, that these are magical creatures that have supernatural powers, so many of the tribes along the river believe it is bad luck to kill these creatures," Luis said in a rather mysterious voice.

"Some say they are shape shifters, others believe that they are the souls of those who lost their lives in the river long ago. Tonight when we camp, I will tell you a tale about a girl who was seduced by a man who wanted her to live in the river with him."

Maggie watched as the strange looking dolphins circled around the rafts, quietly showing interest before disappearing below the surface for a few moments. Could that dolphin she just saw really be a shape shifter, or even her hero Alex Steele who lost her life in these waters only to wake up and find herself as a new member of the river system? It was a strange thought, but one could imagine.

Homer was still busy untangling himself in the river weeds, he threw one back into the water where one dolphin grabbed it and began to play tag with another dolphin. Maggie and Celia both laughed at them, they seemed to be having a grand old time with it. Homer had almost gotten all of the weeds off when a sudden rush of water hit him in the back. Homer jumped up and turned around to find a dolphin staring back at him.

"Hey I gave you a toy, you should be happy I did so," said Homer grumpily.

The dolphin let out a clicking noise before diving under water again, Homer thought that was the last of it when he felt it hit the bottom of the raft knocking Homer over and surfacing right next to him.

"What did I ever do to you?" asked Homer as he balanced himself and shot the dolphin an angry glare.

"Ooh, I bet it's a female and it wants you to join its underwater world," said Riley with a smirk.

Homer shot Riley an icy stare before turning back to the dolphin, shaking his fist. "You bring me into your watery world and you'll have my wife to deal with!"

While Homer's back was turned, Riley quickly found the solution to the problem. A fish had gotten caught in Homer's shirt during the river weed incident and its tail was sticking out just above the collar, apparently the dolphin noticed this and was trying to find a way to get it.

"You think you are so high and mighty with that long snout and that pink coloring as if you are saying, look at me I can make you look drunk even when you are not……OOOOOHHHH!" Homer jumped up with surprise as he felt something slimy go up his neck. Homer turned around and saw Riley staring back at him, a fish in his hand and a mischievous grin on his face.

"Oh it was your fault," said Homer as he tried to act calm after that sudden case of the heebie jeebies.

"Nah it was the paddles fault," said Riley as he threw the fish back into the water causing the dolphin to leap away and go after it.

"Oh what a naughty paddle, I say we turn it into firewood," said Maggie as she picked up Homer's paddle and scolded it like it was real.

"No let's give it a makeover!" said Celia.

"But isn't chopping it up into firewood a makeover?" asked Maggie.

"…Oh yeah," said Celia looking a bit puzzled now.

Homer grabbed the paddle from Maggie, "why don't I keep trying to help you guys move, that should scare it!" he said with a grin.

"Yeah we don't want it catching any more river weeds now would we," said Maggie with a giggle.

"Then the dolphins would be following you," said Riley.

"No not the pink dolphins!" said Celia.

"And we can't have any beer on this trip! So what in the world is going on!" said Riley as he tried not to laugh so hard.

"Sobriety!!!" Homer yelled causing most of the club to turn around and stare.

"Nothing to see here guys, just having fun move along," said Maggie as she waved her paddle at them.

Some of the club members rolled their eyes before turning back to what they were doing while Maggie and Celia continued to giggle. Homer watched his daughter, happy to see that she was having a good time. Maggie seemed to sense that he was watching her and turned around, for the first time since arriving a few days ago, Homer suddenly felt a connection with his daughter and gave her a warm smile. Maggie smiled back, happy that her father seemed to be enjoying himself now.

Homer was glad Marge made him do this, it was late in his life and two kids were now on their own, but the third time was always the charm. He had to make this adventure memorable for Maggie and he wanted to help her the best he could every step of the way.

* * *

A/N: Yeah, that was fun probably still boring but the momentum will finally start coming at you at full speed so be prepared. **RIGHTEOUS FURY!! **heh heh got your attention didn't I. I just wanted to let you know that I actually forgot about that scene until two days after I updated when Blame It on Lisa aired on my local CW station. I was sitting there going "Oh I forgot about that scene, I guess that's where I got it from" so yeah just something that I had seen long ago and forgot where the idea came from.

Well please review guys, chapter 10 should be up very soon, I plan to have it up on the 11th if things go as planned. I wanted to update something a year after the first chapter of Love Thy Neighbor arrived. So keep your fingers crossed that happens. See you all soon.


	10. Stories and Skeeters

Twilight began its descent through the Amazon River as the club dragged their rafts onto a nearby bank. The calmness of the river was now changing into a lovely shade of pink from the setting sun; the ripples moved back and forth making it look like the colors were spreading around the water.

But no one was paying attention to this; everyone had a task to attend to. Some were putting the rafts in a safe spot so they would not float away, Edwardo was cooking a meal for the club so they could enjoy something while hearing a story, and most of the fathers were busy setting up tents while the children helped or watched as most of them seemed to do.

"Hmm I really should have taken that survival college course, but no I had to take the philosophy of the ancient Egyptians, some help that was for my carrier," said Riley as he tried to figure out which part of the tent went where.

"Yeah I bet you had to pay a butt load of student loans for that course too," said Homer who was actually watching Maggie do his job. Maggie had already gotten angry at Homer for throwing the sleeping bags into the mud so she thought it was safer if she did it.

"Of course still paying it off too, but I really should have taken survival, they explained how to set up a tent, use a compass, first aid and CPR which works out here, you never know when one of us will step on something sharp," said Riley as he dug in his bag for some spikes.

"Or touch a poison arrow frog," said Celia.

"Yeah Dad, you might have to suck out the poison because I will be in shock and someone will have to administer CPR on me," said Maggie.

"But then I will die from sucking out the poison," said Homer.

"Looks like we'll all be lost causes there," said Riley.

"Well that's depressing," said Celia as her head hung low and she began to move dirt around with her feet. "Who wants to sing about monkeys?"

"Ninety-nine monkeys jumping on the tent!" Homer clapped.

"Please don't sing that Dad or I will break your neck!" said Maggie from under the tent.

"Such violence for a twelve year old sheesh, I'm gonna go take a leak," said Homer as he walked away and hid behind some bushes.

'Thanks for sharing," said Riley as he got up and checked the top of the tent to see if it was in the proper position, it seemed alright but he had to ask Celia. "What do you think honey, is it sleep worthy?"

Celia walked over and inspected the tent, she shook the supports that held the tent together and then looked around to see if there were any flaws. "Looks good Dad," she finally said.

"Alright, I'm a natural," said Riley happily as he grabbed his sleeping bag and rolled it into the tent so he would be ready to sleep later.

"Mine's done too, hopefully there is enough room for both me and Dad," said Maggie as she glared at Homer as he returned from his relief duties.

"Hey if your mother and I can share the same bed I say we can share the same tent, and why am I suddenly itchy," said Homer as he started scratching his thighs.

"I don't know, did you walk into some poison ivy?" asked Riley.

"No I barely touched any plants, and oh great now the mosquitoes are after me," said Homer as he started to swat at the tiny creatures who were flying all around him. Maggie quickly handed him the spray bottle which he immediately put on. Homer let out a sigh of relief since it seemed to also help with the itching and made his way over to the leaders of the group who were now finishing up the meal they were going to serve.

Most of the fathers and the kids were finished setting up their tents and now they were all making their way over, ready for a good meal after a long day and a story from Luis. Maggie and Celia made their way over to Lee, Anne, and Haley to enjoy their short group session together before they had to set out again in the morning. Homer and Riley sat next to them, along with a few other Dads who were eager to have a good meal after a long day of paddling.

Dinner was spicy chicken and rice which the kids quickly gorged themselves on, they had eaten very little during lunch and they were all starving. Maggie and Celia even ended up asking for seconds, something they rarely did unless the meal was extremely good or they were very hungry. Apparently tonight it was both.

"Are you all ready to hear an Amazonian tale?" Luis asked once he was done eating.

The children nodded since their mouths were full of food and they knew that their fathers would reprimand them for saying yes out loud.

"Well then, here is the tale of the lady and the dolphin. Now as many of you remember, we saw the Boto, the Amazon River Dolphin today. They are a species of great intelligence usually traveling in pairs in search of food, sometimes with other dolphins but only on those rare occasions like the ones you saw today. But sometimes, they are known to travel alone and usually when they travel alone it's when they assume the form of a human.

Now Rosita was a young girl in her village who dreamed of finding someone to love one day. But it was hard for her, because you see; she was very shy and would always be too nervous to confront a handsome man. One morning after her mother begged her to find a suitor for a husband; Rosita ran from her home and began to cry next to the riverbank believing that her hopes of ever finding someone to love would become fruitless.

'What is the matter, my young senorita?' a voice asked as a hand patted her head.

Rosita looked up in shock to find an older gentleman standing above her wearing a round hat and a poncho. But he had one of the most caring faces, Rosita had ever seen, it was like as if he was ready to help her in her hour of need.

'Oh I am a young girl who is too shy to find a man to love me, but my parents want me to find someone to love or they would find shame in me later in life for not giving them grandchildren,' said Rosita."

"Don't you want somebody to love," Lee began to sing in the girls ears. Anne giggled while Maggie shushed him.

"'Ah shyness is something that is hard to get rid of, but if you want to find someone to love, I know of a good place for you to go,' said the man.

'Where is that?" asked Rosita as she wiped tears from her eyes.

'Come with me and I will show you,' said the man.

Rosita followed the man through the dense Amazon jungle, she had never been through this part before and as she got farther in, she became very nervous. After a while, the strange man disappeared and there was no sign of him anywhere in the jungle, what made it worse was that she had no idea what his name was, so she did not know what to call him.

'Rosita!' a voice called to her from near the river.

Rosita ran toward the call but when she reached the river, she found that there was no one there save for four river dolphins frolicking in the middle of the river. Rosita watched them for a moment wishing she could be like the dolphins swimming happily with the ones they loved and not having a care in the world.

'Fascinating creatures aren't they?' Rosita gasped as she turned to the sound of the man's voice behind her. She had not heard him walk up to her even though the area as covered in branches and vines.

'I know what you are thinking,' the man said as he moved forward and a little too close for comfort to Rosita. 'How did I get here without you noticing?'

'Yes I am wondering,' said Rosita.

'It's no mystery, especially if you know all about shape shifters,' the man said."

Homer was hanging on to every word of the story, it was rare for him to be this way, the last time he remembered wanting to know more was when he was reading the Angelica Button series to Lisa. He had skipped ahead even when Lisa told him not to, of course this time he could not do so, he could only listen and be amazed by the story.

As he listened, he felt what he thought was a hand touching his leg; Maggie was sitting beside him so he turned to her and smiled. "Edge of your seat story huh?" he leaned over and asked.

"Yeah Dad, shhh," said Maggie as she put a finger to her mouth. Homer stared at her for a moment and noticed that both of her hands were on her lap, yet he still felt that something was touching him. Homer turned to Riley, thinking that he may have been so into the story he was not paying attention to what he was doing, but he was just like Maggie and the others listening intently. Finally, Homer looked down, and there on his lap lay a snake.

"Oh God!" Homer exclaimed as he jumped up and backed away really fast. It was only a tree boa and it quickly slithered away once Homer got up and ran. Maggie and Celia were the only ones who saw Homer jump up; apparently he backed away so fast that he ran right into a large patch of congregating mosquitoes.

"Shoo flies!" he cried as he swatted at them all while some began to land on his arms ready to feed. For a good five minutes, Homer ran in circles swatting at mosquitoes left and right and trying to get rid of them around the camp. They simply kept following him no matter how hard he tried to get away.

No one helped, not even Maggie as she continued to listen, the entire club continuing on with the story as if nothing was going wrong. They knew it was nothing to be too concerned over, Homer was just having trouble with the local insect life; he had his malaria shots so all he needed to do was find some spray to get rid of them. Of course when Homer finally found it, he realized that he had used it all up the last time he used it so now he was in trouble. He did not want to bother anyone who was listening, so finally he ran as fast as he could toward the river and dived right in, shoes, shirt and all.

Homer stayed submerged in the water for just a moment, letting out a bubbly sigh of relief, as he was glad the mosquitoes could no longer touch him. He was just about ready to head back up the surface when a small fish swam by the corner of his eye. He watched it for a moment as it began to circle around him, possibly curious that a strange new creature was in its river. It finally stopped right in front of his face and stared at him; Homer only smiled and slowly brought his hand over to give it a small touch under its fin. Suddenly the fish smiled too and a row of razor sharp teeth stared back at him. Homer's eyes went wide, and just as he was about to leap out of the water and run, several other fish appeared.

It wasn't long before Maggie heard a scream coming from the river, everyone jumped up with surprise to see what was going on. Homer ran past them and noticed that there were several fish clinging to him.

"I'll go help him," said Maggie as she walked away letting Luis tell what was left of the story.

Maggie found Homer standing near the tent, trying to pry off what looked like a piranha from his index finger; there was another clinging to his butt, while another kept his jaws tightly clenched on his nose.

"I guess the Amazon is not being nice to you tonight is it Dad?" asked Maggie as she grabbed the piranha who had a grip on his butt.

"No ib's nob," said Homer with a tear running down his cheek as he got the piranha off his finger before proceeding to get the one that was not letting go off his nose.

"Boy he's really staying on there," said Maggie as she watched Homer try his hardest to get it off without ripping his nose off. Homer kept trying but the fish was strong and the only thing he could do was stand there and look pathetic.

"I'll get Brandon," said Maggie as she ran back to the group.

They both returned less than a minute later with Brandon carrying a first aid kit which he quickly set down to look at the fish still hanging on and flapping about wildly.

"Wow, he's really on there what did you do to him?" asked Brandon in a voice that almost made him sound like he was laughing.

"I wad jub tryink do get awab fromb mosquitobes," said Homer while Brandon looked around in his first aid kit for something to use to get the fish off.

"Yeah that happens sometimes, I remember one year a kid jumped in and……well let's just say you are lucky to get bitten on the nose," said Brandon as he found a small packet of pepper. "Now this worked for that kid and hopefully this will work for you, apparently fish are also not fond of pepper."

Homer squinted as Brandon shook the pepper right where the fish was biting down. Homer felt the pepper fall down his nose and he wanted to sneeze, but before he even did so the fish let out a sneeze of its own. It was enough to make it fly off of Homer's nose and straight into the jungle, it was too dark though to see where it fell.

"Uhhhh…" Maggie said worriedly.

"It's now food for some animal," said Brandon as he started putting gauze on Homer's nose where the fish bit down. Maggie watched and noticed that Homer did not look very happy, it looked like he was ready to cry.

"You okay Dad?" Maggie asked.

"Yeah…" Homer said with a sniff as if he was making sure his nose was working properly.

"You should be fine, I don't think it will swell, you'll just be sore, but remember to be careful when entering the water. Piranhas do not take kindly to people like you even if you were escaping from their food," said Brandon trying to sound important but Maggie could tell he was trying hard not to laugh.

Homer only nodded and began to itch his arms from the mosquitoes, Brandon only slapped him. "Itching makes it worse, I'll give you some anti itch cream," he said.

Homer only sighed in annoyance before turning to Maggie. "So what happened in the rest of the story?"

"I don't know, you were making too much of a racket for me to hear anything," said Maggie with a grumble as Celia made her way over.

"Hey I was enjoying it as much as you were, the snake just scared me a little that's all," said Homer as he took the anti itch cream from Brandon and rubbed it on his arms.

"Well I guess Celia can tell us what happened," said Maggie with a grin, Celia only happily obliged.

"The man was a shape shifter; he wanted Rosita to love his son who was a dolphin who had drowned years ago in the water. But Rosita did not want to fall in love with him because she liked living on the land and had a family to care for. The man tried to talk her out of going home but she said she could find someone to love some other day, even if it took her forever," said Celia with a sigh.

"Good for her, who would want to marry someone they didn't love any way," said Maggie.

"Yeah," said Celia.

"Smart girls, now I don't have to worry about Celia coming home with someone I don't care for," said Riley

"Yeah we blame Todd Flanders for that," said Maggie as she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah he taught us all about love and the verses of the Bible while on a hike one day, I have no idea why, we all believed it was because he was out of original story ideas, we all agree though that they sucked any way," said Celia.

"So yeah we know all the verses, Corinthians 13:4-8, Romans 12:9, Ephesians 4:2, John 15:13, and of course the infamous Matthew 19:19," said Maggie.

"Thou shalt not eat seafood?" Homer asked worriedly.

Maggie looked at Celia and both rolled their eyes. "Come on Dad, let's get ready for another big day tomorrow," Maggie said as she made her way to the tent, Celia doing the same.

"But what happens if I eat seafood, I need to know," said Homer in a whiney voice.

"Homer, your neighbor says it's safe to eat seafood," said Riley as he patted Homer on the shoulder before disappearing into his own tent.

* * *

A/N: Yeah I was having trouble coming up with a good ending, if you did not laugh then I apologize, apparently my giggle meter is being weird. Anywho it still fits since it has been a year now since the first chapter of Love Thy Neighbor was put up. I thought updating this would be a perfect way to celebrate. So yay!

Now this chapter was just a calm before the storm, the next chapters are going to have some interesting results, unfortunately none of them sexy. So please review when you can, and enjoy your valentines day, or in my case, singles awareness day. Blarg.


	11. Wrong Direction

Four days had come and gone since they had begun their trip through the mighty Amazon. They had reached Brazil just as predicted on the second day early in the afternoon. It was nothing spectacular really, Brandon has been watching his GPS since noon, rarely paddling while Jeremy did most of the work. They hit Brazil at about two thirty where Brandon instantly jumped out of his raft and danced happily. Everyone just stared at him as if he was nuts. After the first few miles downriver; they floated across a small village where the natives waved back at them, happy to other people besides their own.

By now everyone's muscles were sore from paddling all day, and Homer's was no exception. He was one of the older fathers of the group, most of them were in their late thirties to early forties, he was nearing fifty. Maggie arrived late in his life and now he was feeling the full brunt of his age by paddling up river for a good seven hours or so, taking a break here and there to let the other three paddle and watch them from the sidelines.

Riley was okay with this, even though he was about ten years younger, he was already starting to feel age sneak up on him, especially later in the evening as he was setting up the tent. Maggie and Celia of course thought Homer was just making an excuse and Maggie even slapped him in the shoulder on a few occasions once they landed for the evening. Homer was not in the best mood after that happened.

On the fourth day of their trip, Maggie awoke to the pitter patter of rain falling on the roof of the tent. At first it was a light rain and she lay there listening to the sounds as she searched for any rhythms that the rain made such as a "doop doop do," or a 'tap a tap a drip." It wasn't long though before she found a rhythm that was accompanied by her father who was letting out a light snore. She would watch as his chest rose, making no sound before he exhaled and made a small grunt that sounded like air blowing out of a vent. After a few moments, Maggie got the rhythm down to a 'dut blip blip doo,' along with Homer's random breathing noises in the background.

Maggie listened for a good ten minutes before Homer suddenly let out a jerk and smacked his lips as he adjusted himself to another position. For the past three days, Maggie learned that this was her father's way of slowly waking up in the morning; he would most likely be up within a half an hour, or whenever Jeremy decided to bang pots and pans together as loud as he could. But then Maggie began to wonder, Jeremy hadn't made much movement since she woke up, either than or she had been listening too intently to the raindrops to notice. Was the weather nice enough to raft for even half the day?

Still Maggie knew that it was better just to wait, let herself wake up, it was still a bit early and it was nice enough to think about the adventures that lay ahead. It made her wonder if Alexander Steele woke up the way she was doing, and if Milo Sanchez would be up before her waiting for another exciting day. At that moment though, it made her wonder like many times before what happened to Milo, was he still alive and in hiding, or did he really do the most selfish thing a person could do to themselves and the people they loved. It was just a heartbreaking thought.

"You awake yet Maggie?" Her father's voice called from beside her breaking her from her trance.

"Yeah, just about," said Maggie with a sigh.

"Do you smell what I smell?" Homer asked as he sat up with a grunt. Maggie could see that he was a little sore that morning but her concern changed as she sniffed the air.

"Do I smell pancakes?" Maggie asked.

"I didn't know Jeremy would make any for us," said Homer with a smile before slowly getting up and peeking outside the tent. Maggie joined him as both their heads poked out.

They looked around until they saw a tarp to keep the rain from falling on a small fire that was burning in the middle and where Jeremy was flipping pancakes with the other guides. Some of the club members were up eating or sitting by the fire watching the rain fall. Everyone seemed so quiet though, most likely due to the weather changing, it hadn't rained hard on them yet so today was going to be interesting.

"Good morning, Maggie, Mr. Simpson. You should both stop acting like curious puppies and come have breakfast," Jeremy yelled from where he was sitting.

Homer did not need to be told twice that he was invited for breakfast and before Maggie could even look around for her shoes; Homer was out of the tent in a flash. It didn't take Maggie long though to follow close behind him. There was a small stack of pancakes waiting for them already and Homer quickly grabbed his plate and chowed down. Maggie laughed at her father as if he was a baby bird and then turned to Jeremy who had a fresh plate in his hand.

"Are we still going on the river today?" Maggie asked.

"Oh definitely, this is not a bad rain, it will most likely stop before we have to land again in the evening. If it was a downpour with thunder and lightning we would probably wait it out and see what it does, but according to Brandon's weather map it's just a light rain for the time being," said Jeremy.

"What would happen if it was raining harder?" asked Maggie as she squirted some syrup on her pancakes.

"We would wait it out, but we would at least try to move a little bit further, there really is no sense in staying in one place here, plus we have a schedule to keep," said Jeremy as he grabbed some more pancakes as Haley arrived with her father for a good breakfast. "But we will talk more about it once everyone gets up."

Maggie gave a quick shrug, she was willing to wait and hear more in a bit, apparently Jeremy had a plan and he didn't seem to want to repeat himself. She made her way over to Homer who was now conversing with Riley who had just woken up. Celia was still in the tent, having problems getting her pants on. Maggie of course could not resist joking with her as she untangled herself inside the tent.

It wasn't long before everyone in the club was now up and eating their pancakes while Jeremy relayed the news for a day that promised nothing but clouds and some rain, hopefully nothing too big.

"Okay just keep your rain poncho's on through most of the trip, the rain is expected to pick up later in the day but I don't see it causing too much of a trouble, we will just have to figure out how to dry off once we land again. There will be some tributaries on this trip but they should be easy to spot, they are much smaller so directions won't be too confusing. Other than that, finish your meals and lets pack up, we leave in thirty minutes."

Once again the club was on the river, heading to wherever they could go in the rain. Maggie and Celia were the main paddlers that day and both had their bright yellow rain ponchos on so they could keep the rain off of them. Homer and Riley were wearing ponchos too, but Riley was too busy trying to defog his glasses every five minutes to actually help with the paddling. Homer would try his best, but Maggie and Celia insisted that they had everything under control so Homer just talked and pointed out the birds and the plants. After a while though the rain fell more steadily and the birds retreated to the jungles and the plants were usually the same ones they had seen before.

As the day progressed, the rain continued to fall, sometimes drenching, sometimes in a misty fog that made Riley's glasses even harder to deal with. He didn't have the best eyesight but he could still see a little ahead of him, and after a while he simply tucked his glasses on his shirt collar and spent the rest of the time squinting. He would often jump at the first sudden movement that was near him, usually Homer moving his arm close to him in a very sudden way or a water bird landing in the river to catch a fish.

The group landed on the side of the river around midday to take a quick break and have a nice lunch. Everyone was soaking wet and tried their hardest to stay dry under the tent as they had their meal. Most did not want to go back into the river, but Jeremy insisted they should continue on for another three hours, he promised it would go by fast and that he would build a nice big fire once they landed again.

The little group of four followed the club through the river once more; Homer had stopped talking now and tried his hardest to paddle fast for them. He was in no mood for talking; it was now one of those days that he just wanted to finish without catching a cold.

Since no one was into talking, Homer began to think of home and what Marge was doing at the moment, all alone in the house with just the dog to keep her company. The idea of sitting by the fireside with her sounded wonderful, just the two of them together sharing their love without a care in the world. Sure it was fun being with Maggie and it was nice to accompany her on this trip but he was really starting to wish that Maggie had chosen a more fun adventure that was not so far away and that he could easily get a hold of Marge. He had not been able to talk to her since they left Iquitos and they would not again until they reached Manaus.

Homer was so deep in dream world that he did not notice that a fog had started to envelope the river and it wasn't long before Maggie suddenly jumped up and looked around worriedly.

"I wonder if Jeremy was expecting this," said Maggie as she tried to peer through the fog without much success.

"And where is he any way, we can't see much past that one lily pad field," said Celia with a bit of nervousness in her voice.

"I don't know, I don't even hear the group anymore," said Riley.

"Uh oh, Celia, remember that Amazon Trail game we played?" asked Maggie.

"You mean the one where we passed through a fog and got lost in another time and place?" asked Celia.

"Yeah that one," said Maggie.

"What do you girls mean?" asked Riley.

"Well in the game, you travel upstream to the Andes Mountains so we are going the wrong way for the game, but in every level you pass through another time, like during the fifteen hundreds where you meet a conquistador or something," said Celia.

"So has it ever happened to anyone in real life?" asked Homer nervously.

"Not that I know of, but it feels like it almost," said Maggie.

Homer looked around him nervously; his feeling of homesickness was now growing as he began to wonder where he was and if they would find the rest of the club without a problem. They were all silent as they moved through the river for a good ten minutes looking and listening for any signs of their compatriots. They were unsure if they had taken a wrong turn or if they were way behind from the others. By now someone would have yelled out to make sure everyone was with them, but the call did not come. Finally it was Riley who noticed something about the river.

"Uh Celia? Did Jeremy say we would hit any rapids?" he asked.

"I don't think he did, he said we would move through some parts of the river that were a bit swift but nothing to be worried about," said Celia.

"Did he mention rocks, because I am starting to see them," said Homer.

"Yeah and the river is getting narrower too," said Riley.

Maggie was about to respond when the raft suddenly nosedived down a small wave of water causing both Riley and Homer to fly out of their seats, sending them head first into the bottom of the raft. Homer let out a grunt as he tried to balance himself back up, along with Riley who kept falling back on his face for a good minute. Both were finally able to get their bearings straight when Maggie and Celia helped them back up.

"I think we did take a wrong turn and went through a tributary, stupid fog," said Maggie as she balanced herself back into her seat and tried to paddle away from a rock only to hit another one that she had missed.

"What should we do Maggie?" asked Celia nervously.

Maggie looked over at the banks to see if they could land there. She noticed how rocky they were, and in some places completely covered by trees, making it hard to find footing. You could easily slip and fall and hurt yourself on those rocks.

"I would say get off and head back but I have no idea how far we have gone through here and then we would be way far behind from the others," said Maggie.

"We could cross through the jungle," said Homer with a hopeful voice, he really did not want to be there anymore.

"We could but we have no idea which wrong way we went and it's dangerous in that jungle," said Maggie.

"Uh guys," said Celia in a panicked voice.

Maggie looked at Celia and saw her pointing up ahead; the fog was now starting to lift and was now revealing what they had to deal with next. The river was now moving fast, waves were hitting up against the rocks, and dips were beginning to appear just behind them. This was definitely not the right way to go, and all the four could do was hope that they could get through this without being thrown overboard.

That hope seemed impossible now as wave after wave battered the side of their raft and sent water flying into their boat. Soaking them even more from head to toe. Everyone was now steering from left to right as they tried to avoid every rock they came across. Once they almost tipped over, but were saved when Maggie remembered to lean against the raft to help it slide off the rock. Their adrenaline was now pumping as they tried to find a way out of the mess they were in, Homer was even paddling harder than he ever had been and Riley could hear him panting as he tried his hardest to help keep everyone afloat.

"Okay everyone, hold on for this one!" exclaimed Maggie as they made their way down a waterfall that was not too big, but large enough to fall out of if you were not properly prepared.

Everyone screamed as they flew down the falls, holding on for dear life. It was a ten foot drop, not the biggest in the world but one that would cause anyone to not want to go through it again unless they knew what waited for them on the other side.

They landed safely and they all sighed with relief now that they realized that the rapids had ended. The river was still moving fast but it was smoother and less rocky.

"Well that pumped up my blood," panted Maggie as she leaned back on her seat to rest for a second.

"I hope we can find our way back though, it makes me wonder how far we've gone, how about you Homer?" asked Riley as he nudged him.

Homer did not respond, his eyes were open wide and staring straight ahead of him. Maggie noticed this too and turned to see what her father had seen. It was a horizon of open sky. It was not something they were prepared for, no one had warned them about waterfalls. Maggie fought the current as she tried to move the raft to a safer place; she did not care where, just somewhere without a long drop. Celia right beside her doing her best to follow Maggie. Homer and Riley tried to fight the current as well, pumping the paddle into the water as hard as they could.

They battled for what seemed like hours but it was really only a few minutes and they only progressed by a few inches thanks to the swift moving current. Maggie was now getting scared and remembered how Alex Steele was last seen in rapids like this, was there any hope? It was Riley who finally stopped paddling, he knew there was no winning in this fight and he was now exhausted. He threw his paddle down and wiped his brow before turning to Homer who was still trying but he looked even more exhausted. The kids were still fighting and had not noticed that Riley had set his paddle down.

"Celia," Riley called.

"Not now Dad, we need to get out of this," said Celia her back still toward him.

"Celia, stop, it's not going to help!" Riley said in a stern and tired voice. Celia had heard her father say those words before, and it was from a memory she would rather forget.

"But Dad! We can do this!" Celia cried her eyes now brimming with tears.

"We've tried and we haven't gotten very far, the current is too strong," said Riley.

"Even with our adrenaline pumping there is nothing left we can do," said Homer as he set down his paddle once he also noticed that they haven't gotten very far.

"Dad?" Maggie called worriedly as the raft began to move forward. Her father was known to give up on things, but she was not expecting him to give up on something as serious as this.

"Just hang on Maggie, I'm right behind you," Homer said in his best fatherly tone.

"I'm right behind you too Celia, it might not even be a big fall," Riley said in a voice that was more scared than reassuring. Celia said nothing but turned to Maggie who looked back at her with concern and dread.

"I guess I will see you on the other side," said Celia.

"Godspeed my friend," Maggie said as she remembered her saying that to Celia after both went on a hike with a different group.

Homer, Riley, Maggie and Celia braced themselves as the raft inched closer toward the falls; it wasn't long before the moment of impact came as the raft ran straight into a rock protruding out of the edge of the falls. The impact was one of the worst feelings Maggie had ever felt in her entire life, a few seconds later, she felt herself flying in the air toward a long drop and into the waiting rapids below.

* * *

A/N: Alright this is the moment I have been waiting for, the start of the adventure. So I left you all with a nice cliffhanger and hopefully the suspense won't take so long, I know you all want to know if all of them got out safely. Looks like my workload is not going to be too bad for the next few weeks, so I should get some updates in. Oh yeah and sorry about the long descriptions at the beginning, I liked writing them.

So when you all get a chance please review, and I would really like to hear what you guys think not just "This was a great chapter I liked it, please update soon" but please tell me what you liked or what I need to work on or heck what you think will happen. I like those. Well that's all for now, see you all in about a week or more.


	12. Lost

Maggie had no idea how long she had lost consciousness, all she knew was that when she finally opened her eyes again, she found herself pinned against a rock with waves beating down on her. Her lifejacket was still on her but only part of her poncho remained, apparently the jagged rocks had ripped it off a few times. But what really woke her up was not the waves beating down on her but the searing pain in her chest. It felt like several knives drove deep into her heart, she could hear herself breathing and it sounded very labored. She knew though that she had to lift herself up so she could find her way to land and figure out where she was.

When she finally did, her head suddenly felt very heavy like the worst migraine in the world, and it wasn't long before her stomach had to let go of what she had eaten earlier. Once everything was released, she began to cough heavily making her lungs feel even worse than they were when she opened her eyes. She coughed for many seconds, expelling more water out of her lungs and nose and exhausting her to the point where she just wanted to lie down. But she knew that if she did she would be back in the water again. And she had to fight it

"Maggie!" she heard a voice call to her, it sounded like it came from a dark and lonely hallway. She lifted her head up and through the blur she saw a figure run toward her.

"Is that you Celia?" Maggie asked, her voice sore.

"Yeah it's me, I'm so glad I found you, I was getting so scared!" said Celia as she helped Maggie stand up and helped her to land.

Maggie said nothing, but wobbled over to shore with Celia. Celia brought her into a hidden area in the trees where one of the sleeping bags lay, still wet from being in the water. There were also a few clothes hanging up to dry, some water bottles and a few granola bars, but that was it.

"I wish I can give you something softer to lie on, but that's all I found," said Celia as Maggie grabbed a water bottle and began to drink hoping to help her lungs with clearer water and to get rid of the headache that was now slowly ebbing away.

"Maybe our Dads will come back with more things," said Maggie with a sigh while she rubbed her head a little.

"Well, that would be nice if they did but you see……I haven't seen them," said Celia nervously while looking back at the river.

Maggie took a swig of water and it took her a moment to register what she had just heard, when she finally did, she spat out the water and looked up at Celia with surprise and worry.

"What do you mean you haven't?" asked Maggie.

"You're the only one I've found so far since the waterfall, and I know they could be anywhere because we both floated quite a ways from the falls, I don't even see it anymore," said Celia.

Ignoring her headache, Maggie leapt up and ripped off her life jacket before running toward the river, Celia right behind her as Maggie ran back and forth along the river bank calling out to her father.

"I've been looking around, and I am starting to wonder if they got off the river somewhere far away from us, maybe even on the other side of the bank," said Celia.

"Yeah but it's good to try with a second person," said Maggie as she made her way along the side of the river and calling out. "Dad!"

"But Maggie you need to rest, you look worn out," said Celia.

"Not when I know we are both alone, we have to at least look around until it gets too dark," said Maggie as she climbed on a nearby rock and looked around.

Celia watched her for a moment before jumping at the sound of the thunder from a rain storm many miles in the distance. The rain was definitely not over for the day.

"Or at least until it starts to rain," said Celia.

"Dad! Mr. Post! If you can hear us please come to us," Maggie cried.

"Mr. Simpson! Daddy! Where are you? We found some food," Celia yelled knowing how Homer would usually come to the word food; he did it often when she slept over with Maggie.

For a good two hours, the two friends searched the area, going at least half a mile to see if they found them but to no success. As they continued their search, the day was coming to a close and a storm was slowly making its way into the jungle, drowning out their calls as the thunder became louder and louder. It was Maggie who finally decided to stop as she started to head back to the sleeping bag and the few provisions they now had. Celia, who had now begun to realize the importance of this situation, was not ready to stop and was even willing to keep looking in the rain and darkness.

"Are we really gonna stop now?" asked Celia as she continued to look around.

"We have to, the storm is coming in and its getting dark, it will be harder to see in the rain and the pitch black," said Maggie as she grabbed another water bottle and started to drink.

Celia said nothing, only stood there as if she was waiting for her father to show up right then and there. Thunder boomed overhead and the pitter patter in the trees informed Maggie that the storm had begun. But Celia stayed put letting the rain fall on her, drenching her yet again that day.

"Celia, come on over here and rest, we'll find them in the morning," said Maggie.

Celia said nothing at first, only stared for the longest time. Maggie was about to get up and drag her over when she finally spoke. "What if we don't Maggie? We could be stuck out here forever, you without a father and me……an orphan," said Celia tears now forming down her face.

"Celia don't think like that, we have to stick together and stay positive, if we survived I know they had to as well, or at least one of them," said Maggie, though she did say the last words quietly without Celia hearing it.

"I hope you're right," said Celia sadly as she made her way beside Maggie. Maggie watched as she grabbed a water bottle and a granola bar. She took a quick drink and then opened her granola bar, only to stare at it sadly. Maggie knew that Celia hated being alone.

"We just need to hope for the best, and I'm here for you if you need someone to talk to," said Maggie as she patted her friend on the shoulder.

Celia sighed again and looked up at the sky. The rain was falling lightly above them, thanks to the trees in the canopy, so they would not be drenched if they were out in the open. Sometimes the trees would illuminate as the lightning struck around them, followed by a loud clap of thunder. Both watched the skies for the longest time, Maggie lying on her back as her headache was now finally starting to ebb away now that she was lying down. Celia only sat up with worried eyes afraid of what the future might bring. They were both silent the entire time until Celia finally spoke up.

"Maggie?" Celia said.

"Yeah?" Maggie said her eyes closed now that she was getting ready to sleep.

"I wish it wasn't cloudy or rainy tonight because then we would see the stars," said Celia with a hint of thoughtfulness in her voice.

"Eh it's kind of nice listening to the rain and thunder, it's almost peaceful as the thunder starts to lower and the rain goes pitter patter on a nearby leaf," said Maggie.

"I know but then again it doesn't feel that I'm being watched over," said Celia.

Maggie opened her eyes and turned curiously to Celia who looked at her like she was waiting for an answer. "What do you mean?"

"Well remember in The Lion King how Mufasa said that the great kings watch over you, I mean I know the stars are really balls of gas burning billions of miles away like Pumbaa said, but what if they are more than that? What if the ones we love really are watching us, keeping us safe from harm while we are all alone out here without our fathers to protect us," said Celia.

Maggie didn't have to ask who she was talking about; she remembered when Celia's mother passed on after the first two years of knowing her. They didn't see each other for almost half a year before Celia finally wanted to play again, even though Maggie had known her for such a short time, she still felt that Charlotte had been one of the family, almost like a lost aunt, and even attended her first funeral she ever remembered for her.

"I don't see why not, I mean I bet you need some obligation to check on your family every now and again," said Maggie.

"Especially if you loved them as much as my mom did for us, you remember how busy she was because Dad was always gone but somehow she still managed to do something special for us," said Celia as she put her chin on her knees, this was a hard time for her now. She had no idea if her father was alright and the only person who was really there to protect her was Maggie. But because Maggie was young like her, Celia had to protect her too.

"Yeah, she made some of the best cookies, amazingly better than my mom's which is a big feat. Boy do I miss those!" said Maggie.

"Me too!" Said Celia with some excitement in her voice, but one that also had a hint of nervousness. Maggie could sense this and gave her friend a quick pat on the back.

"Celia, I know you are scared but try not to be, tomorrow we will keep searching and we will find them," said Maggie.

"I know…, I guess after what Dad said before we fell over the falls I'm more scared than I should be," said Celia.

"What do you mean?" asked Maggie.

"He told me it wasn't going to help as we kept trying to fight the current and he said those same words to me the night mom was in the hospital after I asked the nurses why they weren't helping her after that heart measuring machine stopped beeping. I started crying because I thought they weren't listening and Dad had to take me outside and told me it wouldn't help no matter how hard they tried. I guess hearing it again brought back that image of my mother, lying there in that bed hooked to all sorts of machines…… the last time I actually saw her………… I didn't even get to say goodbye," Celia said tears now forming down her face.

Maggie looked back at Celia, ever since that day five years ago; Celia never actually talked about that night to her. Now she knew a little more about what her best friend had gone through and now she understood a bit more as to why Celia was so scared. Hopefully her father did make it, she did not want to see Celia without any parents now, where would they take her and Paige? Maybe to a relative or perhaps they would have to be foster children like Milo Sanchez had been, moving from family to family all the time. It was such a sad thought.

"Just stay brave Celia, tomorrow is another day." Maggie was never the one to really show any support for their friends in need, she only knew how to stand by them if they just wanted a friend there.

Celia said nothing, but finally lay down on the sleeping bag and listened to the thunder in the distance, and watched as the trees illuminated to the glow of the lightning.

* * *

Morning arrived, still cloudy and the rain was still falling thought not as heavily as it had been since Maggie and Celia had sought shelter. Both of them tried to figure out a way to carry what little provisions they had, even though what they had was less, carrying it all was still a big burden. Maggie finally found the solution when grabbed some nearby vines and made a carrying sling out of them. Jeremy had actually taught them this technique before; they never realized they would actually put it to practical use.

"So which way should we go?" Celia asked as they both stared back and forth at the river.

"I say we head downstream because even if we don't find them we could always run into a small town or village, hopefully with a phone," said Maggie.

"And hopefully they won't see us as a threat if it's a small village," said Celia.

"Leave everything to me then, Jeremy taught me something to do if that happens, remember last year when you went on vacation?" Maggie asked.

"Yeah, and you made me all jealous because you all ended up going on that hike to that cool cave I wanted to see," said Celia.

"Well Jeremy for some reason decided to give us pointers on how to show you are friendly and mean no harm and I want to see if it works," said Maggie while she slid down a rock at the same time. Celia quickly followed only more carefully and steady, the rocks looked slicker than they already were from all the rain.

They wandered for many hours, climbing and crawling under rocks often emerging covered in mud. A few times they even got stuck in mud where it took quite a few minutes to get Maggie out without losing her shoe. Once that problem was fixed, Maggie quickly tied her shoes behind her just so she could move quicker through the underbrush and tried to ignore the painful thorns that she would often step on. Celia would see her wince when she did and would quickly make a wide berth to ignore them since she had also taken off her shoes.

Twice they had to seek shelter when the rains brought a downpour into the jungle turning the river muddy and uninviting. But they knew they were not the only ones who stayed away from the river during the rains, the animals of the jungle were much quieter, the birds rarely sang and the noises they made were not as abundant. Quite a few times they ran into a troop of monkeys who would watch them curiously before taking to the trees. Even though humans were rarely seen in these parts, they still seemed wary of them.

The morning soon turned to afternoon, during their travels, they would call out to their fathers hoping to hear any sign from them, but still nothing came, only the sound of raindrops on the trees and birds in the distance. Both were now feeling weary especially Celia who did not sleep well the night before from all the worrying. Maggie could sense this and decided to go at a slower pace and helping her out whenever she could. It was finally when they reached the top of a ridge that Celia began to show her exhaustion.

"Maggie, I know it's important to find civilization and our fathers but I really don't think I can keep going," she said.

"But I really wanted to get another half mile in before a big storm hits or it gets later," said Maggie.

"I know but did you ever stop to think that maybe your dad has slowed down the search as well," said Celia. She knew Homer was not very good at moving forward, she had dealt with this problem many times before at theme parks.

"Ah……oh dear I never thought about that," said Maggie.

"I don't know how easily my dad can talk your dad into moving since they don't know each other very well and all," said Celia.

"Good point," said Maggie as she stood there and scratched her chin.

"So do you think it's time we stopped for a while now?" asked Celia.

Maggie was about to reply when they suddenly heard a snap coming from the bushes behind them. Maggie and Celia turned around in alarm and stared out into the dark part of the trees.

"Dad?" Maggie called nervously.

There was no reply but it wasn't long before both of them realized how quiet the area had become. The birds still called when they were around, but now there was total silence. Something was stalking them.

"I don't think we should stop," said Maggie nervously.

"I'm with you on this," said Celia who started backing away.

Celia had forgotten that she was on a ridge and without warning she lost her footing. Maggie was still facing the other way when she heard her best friend scream and at first thought that the creature that was stalking them had grabbed her. She sighed for just a moment when she noticed that her friend had only fallen down the hill but panicked again when she realized that she had to make sure that Celia was alright.

As fast and as carefully as Maggie could, she slid down the hill toward her best friend. She landed on a puddle of mud at the bottom but she quickly regained herself and jumped up to see if Celia was okay. Celia was lying there next to a tree, on her back and looking like she had hurt herself.

"You okay?" asked Maggie worriedly.

"I don't know, my ankle feels really sore," said Celia as she turned herself over and tried to pull her leg out from under a log. She immediately regretted it and winced in pain.

"Oh no, that's not good," said Maggie. She knew that a hurt ankle of any kind would spell trouble and cause them to lose time while moving through the jungle.

Maggie was about to try and help her up when she heard another snap in the bushes behind her. Maggie reeled around and there behind her standing between two bushes stood a jaguar. Its eyes set on them while it licked its lips and began to protract its claws.

"What is it Maggie?" asked Celia.

"Jaguar," Maggie said in a whisper.

Celia knew that any big cat meant trouble and now that she was injured, she realized that her hope of running from this big cat was pretty slim.

"What do we do Maggie?" She asked in a frightened voice.

Maggie said nothing but grabbed the biggest and sharpest stick she could find and held it in front of her. She was going to find a way to scare this creature away or die trying.

* * *

A/N: Look guys another cliffhanger! Yeah sorry about the long wait. I had problems trying to get the dialogue between Celia and Maggie just right without making it too sappy. I hope I succeeded. So yeah there you go, hopefully you will not have to wait too long for the next chapter. And I hope you enjoyed this one. And my birthdays a month from now, horray! Please review when you can, and have a nice week.


	13. Cuzkaal

For a few moments, Celia could not see the huge jaguar that Maggie was trying to fend off in front of her. Not because Maggie was in the way of course, but because from where she was sitting, the jaguar was well hidden in the bushes. If she had been alone she would have never known the creature was there until it was too late.

Celia watched though as Maggie crouched in front of her holding not a stick but a tree branch that was large enough for her to hold on without it being too heavy. Maggie only waved it in front of her waiting for a good moment to whack the big cat in the head with it. But the jaguar stood its ground, hidden well in the trees and not coming out yet.

"Maybe it won't get any closer," said Celia.

"Maybe, but I don't want to take any chances," said Maggie as she backed away just enough for the jaguar to feel like it was a good time to come out of the open.

Now Celia wished she had not seen the creature because seeing it now made her try to back away in fear, only to let out a cry of pain from her injured ankle. This jaguar was much bigger than the ones both had seen at the zoo, but that might have been because cage was just out of reach of fingers or the fact that there was a big moat in front of the viewing area. Whatever the reason though, both now wished they were behind a moat, away from this angry looking cat.

He was very healthy looking; he did not look as if food was hard to come by in the jungle just by how he had nice strong muscles. His paws were massive and connecting those paws was what really worried Celia, his claws, which looked as if he could rip anyone to shreds with them, that is until she saw its teeth.

Maggie had shoved the branch toward the jaguar hoping to get it to back up, the jaguar only hissed back, revealing its razor sharp fangs. This caused Maggie to back up just a little but this proved too costly for her to do so. A second later, the jaguar moved forward and Maggie shoved the branch toward it again this time causing it to swipe at her and breaking part of the branch. Now the branch was dangling from her hands, and Maggie knew that it was not the best weapon for such a creature that was not afraid of them in any way. But Maggie stayed put; she would keep trying to fend it off.

Maggie watched as the jaguar stood there for just a moment before moving a little to the right, she knew it was most likely finding a good opportunity to strike and Maggie made sure she followed its movements. Celia could do nothing, only watch and let out a small gasp every time the jaguar moved a certain way. Maggie would not say anything; she knew Celia was showing her concern.

Then it finally happened, Maggie watched as the jaguar crouched down ready to spring at any moment, Maggie held out the branch hoping that it would somehow impale the creature, or at least give it a nasty splinter.

Finally the jaguar sprung, Maggie cried out and was about to back away when the jaguar was suddenly knocked off balance, it flew to the ground and landed just a few inches from a rock. A second later, a person who looked like he came out of Tarzan appeared and stood in front of it holding a spear. The jaguar hissed at him while the man simply stood in front of him with his spear pointed at him.

Maggie and Celia could not see the face but they could tell that this was no ordinary person. He wore what looked like a poncho over his chest and a skirt over his waist, definitely not a loin cloth which was a plus. His hair was a bit longer than Maggie's and was tied in a pony tail. As he moved about with the jaguar hissing and growling back at him, they noticed that he had a small limp, perhaps he had fought this jaguar before?

The two watched as both man and animal sized each other up, the jaguar clawing at him from time to time while the man simply shoved his spear toward him causing the jaguar to back away a bit. Perhaps it had been speared by this man before, only a small injury and one that wasn't serious enough to kill it, but enough to tell this jaguar that if he tried again, he might not be so lucky.

Finally after nearly five minutes, the jaguar decided that what he had hoped to achieve and capture was not working out. It gave the man one more hiss before disappearing into the bushes. The man watched it go and stood there for a few minutes making sure it was not going to return.

"Maggie," Celia said quietly.

Maggie turned to Celia who gave her the hint that thanking this man needed to be done. "What makes you think I wouldn't do that? He might even know where a village or city is," said Maggie as she made her way toward the man. She stopped in front of him, his back still turned to her and she began to wonder how to start a conversation.

"Uh…hi there!" said Maggie as cheerily as she could. Celia slapped herself in the face. There was a long moment of silence, before the man finally turned around.

"What in blazes are you two doing out here anyway?" the man finally asked when he turned to face them. Maggie suddenly became dumbstruck and unable to speak, but not because of what he said but because of who he was. The man sported a goatee, well trimmed even for being out in the jungle for so long. And even though his chin was covered by hair, the rest of his face was still very recognizable.

"Well speak up," said the man while Maggie continued to stare. Maggie quickly shook herself and smiled.

"You're Milo Sanchez aren't you?" she asked. Celia's eyes instantly lit up when she heard Maggie say that and stared at him too.

"…Yes,… but that's not important, where are your parents?" he asked as he limped his way over to Celia.

"Uh…well you see, that's why we are out here. But there are so many things I want to ask you Mr. Sanchez, like why did you never return to show yourself, and how did you survive three years out here?" Maggie asked as she began to circle him.

"Yeah, we miss the show, watching reruns gets boring after a while," said Celia.

"And the Discovery Channel is thinking about moving the show onto Saturday night at two in the morning, or is it Sunday morning. Either way, we don't stay up that late, and Mythbusters is cool and all, but we prefer to also watch you," said Maggie.

"Yeah there are other shows they put on that try to be like you and Alex but it just doesn't work," said Celia.

By now Milo was getting a bit annoyed by both of them and proved it by letting out a growl of annoyance that neither Maggie nor Celia heard. Finally he knew it was best to simply tell them.

"Okay you two, what's more important, listening to me tell you all about why I am out here or finding your parents?" he asked.

"Uhhh…good question," said Maggie with a grin.

"Yeah both sound pretty important," said Celia who then let out a wince as she tried to move her leg.

"Either way, when you do help us find our Dads, or a village, people will see you and wonder why you have been hiding," said Maggie.

Milo looked back at Celia, waiting for her to say something she only nodded slyly in agreement.

"Well, you are forgetting that I can just send you on your way once a village is in sight, and you can claim that you saw me but then people will believe that I was merely just a ghost," said Milo as he began to inspect Celia's ankle to see how hurt she was, she quickly flinched when he put pressure on one part of it. "Sorry, just seeing how bad it might be."

"I think I did something to it when I slid down the ridge, do you think it's broken?" asked Celia.

"Hmm," said Milo as he tried his best to test it without hurting her too much. Celia tried not to wince again, but Milo was not a doctor and he did not know how to be gentle. "Well it doesn't feel broken, I did break my ankle about a year and a half ago out here and truthfully I think you would be crying in pain a bit more if it was. I think you just sprained it and knowing sprains, they can get swollen in a few hours," said Milo.

"Do you know how to fix it?" asked Celia.

"Unfortunately not and the nearest village is two days away," said Milo.

Both Maggie and Celia gave Milo the "oh great, everything is hopeless" look. They had been all alone now for a day and a half and if they had kept walking they would not have found a village until two days from now. They really did pick a dangerous adventure.

"If you want the swelling to go down and to make sure it's not broken, I can take you to Cuzkaal, the only problem is that he is a few hours away from here in that direction. Finding your parents might have to wait," said Milo.

Maggie and Celia both looked at each other, they really were hoping to find their dads soon, but the thought of a swollen ankle and the inability to walk sounded much worse. Maggie knew she did not have to question Celia when she saw her looking down at her injured ankle. She did not look around to make sure her father was nearby; there really was no point after what Milo had said.

"If you do take us to him, will you help us find our fathers afterward?" asked Maggie.

"Do you honestly think I would just set you both out on your own once she's been healed? My goodness five minutes later I'll find one of you with another injury, I'm not heartless and you should know that after watching me all those years," said Milo.

"But you did say that you would send us on our way once we get to a village," said Maggie.

"Ah the key word there is getting to the village, I would walk you as far as the trees go and just watch you leave," said Milo.

"Oh," was all Maggie could say.

"But for now, let's get your friend here fixed up so we can get you back to civilization," said Milo as he helped Celia up. Celia stood on one leg and looked back up at Milo wondering how she was going to walk most of the way, hopping on one foot would just tire her and cause her to trip more on vines.

"Okay climb on my back and hang on, this terrain could get rough," said Milo as he bent down as Celia grabbed onto his shoulders and crossed her one leg around his waist, she tried with the other but the pain in her ankle kept her from doing so.

"You think you can keep up there kid?" Milo asked Maggie as she watched Celia get settled.

"I can do my best," said Maggie with a shrug.

"Good, if you fall behind don't hesitate to yell at me and tell me to slow down, since I do know this place more than you all and will probably forget that," said Milo as he soon made his way through the jungle.

"So who is this Cuzkat person?" asked Maggie as she stayed in pace with Milo.

"His name is Cuzkaal and he is a shaman who found me shortly after I said goodbye to everyone with that tape,… they all found that right?" asked Milo.

"Yeah, they did, they showed it on the internet a few weeks after, we were so sad because you were gone and…," said Maggie but before she could finish Milo interrupted her.

"Well I'm still here aren't I?" said Milo who said it in a way that sounded like he did not want to talk about it at that moment. Maggie backed away, she had never heard him speak like that, Milo noticed a looked back at her concerned. He was her hero and now he was acting like a complete jerk, he hated doing that.

"Sorry, its best to leave the past in the past right now, it's more important that I get you both to a safe place and find out how you got out here in the first place," Milo said as leapt from one log to the next without even letting go of Celia. Maggie tried to follow suit but quickly fell into some mud.

Milo stopped for a moment to wait as Maggie picked herself back up all the while explaining how they both got out there. She started from the day the club had held the vote on where to go, to the start of the adventure, to how they lost sight of the rest of the party and all the way up to falling down the waterfall. Maggie and Celia really had a lot to cover for Milo and he would occasionally question things and Maggie or Celia would gladly answer. Once both had finished talking about their journey, it was now getting later and they were apparently near Cuzkaal's home.

"Well I am amazed you both made it this far and what is nice about it is that we are just about to our destination," said Milo.

"Oh how much further?" asked Maggie, she was now more exhausted than she was before.

"Won't be long now, we just have to cross this bridge here and go through those trees," said Milo as he quickly made his way along a log bridge and was over the other side in no time.

Maggie watched him go across before she finally made her way onto it. She had never crossed a log bridge before and as she scanned it, she noticed how it was not very wide and that there was nothing to cling to. It was almost like finding herself in the world of Avatar only Milo was not blue and extremely tall. Slowly she moved forward taking every step an inch at a time, the bottom could not be seen from under her and she tried not to think about what waited for her at the bottom.

"Everything okay there Maggie?" Milo asked.

"Yeah, I just don't walk across these very often," said Maggie as she almost lost her balance.

"Don't worry, it was hard for me the first few times, just take it slow," said Milo as he tried to be encouraging.

Maggie said nothing but followed his advice and for a good five minutes she slowly crossed the bridge, Celia laughing at her while she did so, Maggie would only glare a few times before finally ignoring her and moving as best as she could on the log before she finally reached the end. When she did, she stood up in front of Milo and gave him a big grin.

"Glad you made it, now follow me, but be very quiet, Cuzkaal might be meditating and he does not like to be disturbed," said Milo as he pushed his way through the bushes. Maggie following close behind.

They soon entered a small clearing where there were two huts in the back and a big fire in the middle. Seated by a fire was a man whose back was turned as he chanted some ancient ritual to it. Milo stood there as if questioning whether to move further without interrupting him.

"You brought me children, I could have sworn I told you I needed a tapir," said the man without turning his back.

"I know you said that, but something came up and I had to save these two," said Milo as he moved forward now that he knew that Cuzkaal was not meditating.

Cuzkaal looked up from the fire and both Celia and Maggie stared at him for quite a while. They had seen images of shaman before but had never seen any up close. He was a thin man, most likely in his early forties. He had no hair on the top of his head but did have something of a rat tail on the back that was braided and put into a pony tail. He wore a loin cloth and had a special breast cloth on his chest that was red in color. His face had a hard sternness about him probably because the area around his eyes had one long red tattoo going from ear to ear. And his nose had been pierced with a decoration that almost looked like the rib bone of a certain creature because of how it curved.

Cuzkaal noticed that both Maggie and Celia were staring at him and proceeded to do the same to them. After a few moments both Celia and Maggie looked up at Milo wondering what they needed to do now.

"Well they're not tapirs, I can't use their skin to make what I want," said Cuzkaal. Both Maggie and Celia backed away in fear.

"But Celia here needs help, she hurt her ankle and the nearest village is two days away," said Milo.

"I know that, but that also means you will be getting beans again for dinner," said Cuzkaal with a sneer, apparently both had been eating beans for quite a few days.

"I don't mind if I have beans," said Celia.

"Yeah me either, it's just been granola bars," said Maggie.

Cuzkaal stared at them again for a moment, causing both to look down at the floor, before turning back to Milo. "You also said you needed a new poncho."

"Is there a reason why you don't want to help these two?" asked Milo.

"Well for one thing you brought them to my secret home; you are the only one allowed to see this place. And another thing these are children who, when they return to their little family they will most likely tell everyone about the shaman who saved their lives and then everyone will go looking for me and then turn me into some sort of freak show. This is my home, I live here and the outcome is never good when a child is around me," said Cuzkaal in the angriest way possible as he stormed toward his hut as if Milo had no more say in the matter.

"But Cuzkaal…" Milo said as he followed the shaman into his hut and disappeared behind a straw curtain.

Maggie and Celia both sat there staring at the hut, they could hear both the men arguing with each other, though neither of them could actually hear what they were saying. As they sat there, they heard the rumbling of thunder and both hoped that they would not be thrown out by the coming storm. Spending one night in it was enough, both were exhausted and they wanted to sleep in a safe place.

Both of them waited for a good five minutes wondering who was winning the argument and what would happen if Milo did lose. He did seem like a concerned enough guy to still help them out, but Celia was getting a bit sorer now and she really did not want her ankle to hurt more than it already did. Finally Cuzkaal was the first to burst out of the hut carrying an assortment of herbs and wrappings while Milo was holding onto a spear.

"I'm going to find a Tapir for you, and if I come back and find out something happened to those two, you won't have a helper anymore," said Milo who then disappeared behind the bushes.

Maggie and Celia stood there and listened to the trees sway as Milo soon was out of earshot. They were soon interrupted though by Cuzkaal who bent down next to Celia and took out his herbs.

"Now hold still, I don't like it when people move when I am trying to help them," said Cuzkaal as he rubbed his calloused hands on Celia's injured ankle.

Celia flinched when Cuzkaal first touched it, but it wasn't long before she could barely feel it at all and watched as the shaman tested all around her ankle. After a few long moments of silence, he spoke up.

"Its sprained so nothing too serious, though you were close to breaking it. I would suggest though that you stay off it for about three or four days," said Cuzkaal.

"That long?" asked Celia.

"Unfortunately," said Cuzkaal as he rubbed a special herb on her ankle.

"But we have to find our dads," said Maggie.

"Look I am less than thrilled as you are, but being a shaman I believe in making the right choices and at the moment you are stuck with me whether we both like it or not," said Cuzkaal while at the same time he wrapped Celia's ankle with a special kind of tree bark. For someone who was not happy with the idea, he sure was gentle.

Maggie said nothing but watched him do the process. She knew there was no sense in talking to the man, he was angry enough that they were there and she did not want to anger him further by saying anything. For now she could only wait for Milo to return and hope that the next few days would go by quickly. She was already starting to miss her father and she wondered how he was getting along without her.

* * *

A/N: Yeah that was long and the last paragraph seems weak but ah well at least now there are two new characters in here that you get to know more about. I hope you all thought it was okay so far I really like Cuzkaal and he is a very important addition to the story, you'll get to know him more in a few chapters time. For now though you all are probably wondering what happened to Homer and Riley and you will find out in the next chapter. I will have a chapter where Marge and Bart find out that Homer and Maggie are missing but that's going to be a while from now, so don't worry I have not forgotten about them.

Now before I forget, CalculatedChaos has just put up his newest story a sequel to _Death of a Simpson _called _Summer of Simpson_. Please read it when you get a chance and review it as well. I don't understand why no one is, his stories are great and worth a read. So please make him happy and try to up his review count, he totally deserves it. If you don't I will be very sad and I don't know what else.

Well that's all for now, please remember to review this chapter, only had three last time, seems like everyone is off doing other things which is fine but please when you can review, I really want to know what you all think. So have a nice week everyone.


	14. News Sent Home

A/N: Alright change of plans because CalculatedChaos said I needed some more tension and I agree with him. I'm going to show what Lisa is up to, along with Marge and Bart while Homer and Maggie are lost. Just so I can leave you all wondering what happened to both Homer and Riley just a bit longer. Hee hee, yeah we are evil. So yeah just wanted to tell you that in case you were wondering, now on to the story.

* * *

Lisa sat alone in a rickety old chair checking her email as fast as she could before the internet connection disappeared. That was one of the many things she hated about spending her time in South America for the Peace Corps, the horrible internet connection. That and the lack of phones. But it was still worth it, she loved working around the South Americans and helping with schools and hospitals. She loved to read to the young children, healthy and sick alike and was often found sitting outside of her hostel window and playing some jazz.

It was a good life, a nice break from the stress of school and home, though she did miss her family more and more every day. But the longing for them would soon be over in less than a week when Homer and Maggie finally finished their trip. She thought it was great timing for Maggie to choose this trip, she was in Manaus now for the next four months, and it was a great time to catch up and see how big her little sister had gotten. She had been counting down the days ever since Maggie told her back in February, and she could not believe the time was almost upon them. Too bad their time together would go by very fast.

Lisa gave a sigh, the internet suddenly died on her, but that was alright, it was a slow morning, the messages didn't look too important. With nothing else to do she decided to put on her shoes, grab her passport, and head out the door to spend some time with the school children today. She had promised to watch them play a game of soccer or football as other countries called it, and then maybe teach them some Geography. It was a simple day, one that she liked.

Lisa made her way down the street, even though it was nine in the morning, the street was already packed with the locals, some walking or biking to work while others already had a little section just for them where they would sell fruit and vegetables, meats and even some local jewelry. Lisa had bought many lovely necklaces from them and they always looked so nice on her when she went out to dinner with friends.

But today they would have to wait for her to purchase their wares. Right now she had to get to work, the kids were waiting for her. Like most kids they were very impatient about Lisa showing up on time and of course Lisa had to act all nice around them telling them that she had other things planned before she could visit.

But today she was on time and it wasn't long before she entered the school yard where some of the children were already playing football on the muddy ground and yelling happily as one child intercepted a ball and kicked it into the goal. Their momentary cheering was short lived though when all of them turned around and saw Lisa walking toward them.

"Lisa!" They all cried out happily.

"Oi, meus amigos!" Lisa called out in the best Brazilian Portuguese she could utter, one of the few words she actually knew in that language. She was better at speaking French.

"Are you going to play football with us today?" asked a young girl with the brightest eyes Lisa had ever seen.

"Actually I only plan on watching, I have to teach you guys afterwards and I don't want to be covered in mud," said Lisa with a smile.

The children looked a bit disappointed by that and were all silent for a moment until the boy holding the ball finally responded. "As long as you watch," he said with a grin.

Lisa smiled back at them and made her way over to a small bench where she usually sat when she watched them play a game. Usually she would only watch for a few minutes before turning to her notes and deciding what sort teaching techniques she would do today. The kids weren't bothered by this because she would look up from time to time to see how they were progressing.

Today the two teams were divided up by age, the kids who were ages seven to ten were in one team and the ten to thirteen year olds played in another. This kind of game was usually the roughest so Lisa had to watch and make sure that no one was trampled or treated too roughly.

Today though, none of that seemed to happen and for a good two hours the two teams played fair and fights rarely broke out. It wasn't until the end though that things got a little rough, the older team was now pushing the younger ones out of the way a little too roughly and Lisa had to finally do something about it when one little boy named Rico was shoved into the mud face first.

Lisa saw Rico land very hard and ran to assist him as he started to cry. As soon as she knelt down to assist him though, one of the leaders of the Peace Corps called out to her.

"Lisa, would you come over here please?" He called.

"Just a minute Andrew, I have to help Rico here," said Lisa.

"Actually this is very important," said Andrew.

"What's more important than tending to an upset child?" asked Lisa with a scowl. She really hated it when someone told her to do something when she had another task at hand.

"Hang on, I will get Sandra here to help him, but as soon as she arrives you need to step into my office," said Andrew.

Lisa let out a sigh and turned back to Rico, tears still falling down his face and mixing with the mud. He looked almost like a movie star who had been crying with tons of mascara on her face.

"It's okay Rico, we will get you cleaned up in no time," said Lisa who was then met by Sandra who quickly ushered Rico into another room.

Lisa then moved down the hall and into Andrews's office where he was sitting in his chair waiting for her. But he was not the only one in there, another man in a suit was sitting in one of the chairs, he looked like he had come from the embassy.

"What's going on?" Lisa asked in a concerned voice once she noticed the other man in the room.

"Lisa this is Reggie Grance, he's with the U.S. government," said Andrew.

"Hi?" Lisa said nervously while also shaking his hand. She knew something was wrong; both were looking at her very seriously.

"Lisa I hate to interrupt you with something like this but you do remember how your father and your youngest sister went out on a rafting trip down the Amazon?" asked Reggie.

"Of course, I have been waiting for months to see them again,…… why?" Lisa asked. It was rare for someone to start a conversation like this.

"We received a message this morning from a small village not far from here who had gotten the message from another village, who had gotten the message from another village…"

"Just get on with it," said Lisa nervously.

"I was getting to it," said Reggie. "The very first village the message was received from currently has the club your father and sister are with…"

"Oh no are they kidnapped?" Lisa asked before the man could finish.

"No that village is a peaceful village and will offer any services to help. No, what the real problem is that three days ago, that area of the Amazon was hit by heavy rains and fog. And from what we gathered from the information here is that they have either become lost…… or have been eaten by a fish. You know how it is with information, people change it…" Reggie continued.

"Well you should have asked for something clearer, either they have been dragged down the river by a giant fish or they are lost, I can't accept both right now," said Lisa with a heavy scowl, she was not happy with how the information had been given.

"Well we have sent one of our crew out to the village to talk to the leader, Jeremy, so we can know more," said Reggie.

"Are you saying that because it's the truth or are you just saying that and planning on doing so at a later date? Because I have two loved ones out there in a deep, dark jungle who both have very little survival skills and I want to make sure that when I call my mother I give her the correct information as well!" Lisa exclaimed. Both Andrew and Reggie could now tell that she was trying her hardest not to cry.

"Wait a minute, your mother is still alive?" asked Reggie as he leafed through Lisa's file.

"Of course she is……is there something else you haven't told me?" asked Lisa.

Reggie looked at Lisa's file for a moment; his face had the look of confusion before turning back to another file and then reading information on that one as quickly as he could. He then let out a loud "Oh" before rolling his eyes at himself for the stupid mistake he made.

"I'm sorry Lisa, I was reading the wrong file, the one without a mother is Paige. Riley Post's eldest daughter who is still in the states. You know who she is right?" asked Reggie.

"Yeah, she's Maggie's best friends sister," said Lisa now sounding a bit confused as to why someone would even talk about that family instead of her own.

"Well they are also involved in this," said Reggie.

"I guess that could be a positive thing, perhaps Mr. Post can help my father get out of situations, since he is not the best at surviving things like this, unless they really did get eaten by a fish which I highly doubt," said Lisa with a bit of annoyance in her voice.

"And I would bring you to the village that is nearest to where everything is happening but I know you probably need to call your mother about the problem, she might want to come down and help with things," said Reggie.

"Oh I know she will, I'm going to call her right now, do you need me to call Paige too?" asked Lisa as she started to walk out the door.

"That would be most helpful, and let them know that if they do want to come down, we can pay for the plane tickets," said Reggie.

"Good, you should," said Lisa before walking out of the office and slamming the door behind her.

Both Andrew and Reggie stood there watching her walk away, surprised that she left that way. Perhaps she was in a great hurry to get her mother down here as soon as possible.

"Well that went well," said Reggie. Andrew only rolled his eyes.

* * *

Lisa walked down the hall toward the room where most of the students spent time in solitude or just needed some time to unwind. Nobody was there at the moment, everyone, including her, was supposed to be doing some sort of job. But Lisa did have a job right now, she had to call her mother and give her the bad news. As soon as she walked out of Andrews's door, she wanted to get a hold of her mother and tell her she was needed, but now as she stood alone in the room she was feeling more nervous about the whole thing. How would her mother take it? And now she began to think about her littlest sister and father, were they together out there or were they separated and hopelessly lost?

It made her wish that she had gone with them; at least she would know some things about wilderness survival. Then again, Maggie was in an adventure club and probably knew all sorts of survival tricks. At least Lisa hoped so. For about five minutes, Lisa paced the room as she tried to figure out how to break it to her mother gently and without making her cry. She couldn't cry herself that was for damn sure; it would only make things worse.

Finally she got the nerves to sit down and grab the phone and dial the number. It was around lunchtime by now so either Marge was home or out doing errands. Lisa hoped she was home. Finally a familiar voice picked up, but it was not her mother.

"Simpsons residence, we put the 'funk' in dis-funk-tional," a voice said as it tried to sound like a reggae singer, it was Bart.

"Bart! I am so glad you answered," said Lisa with a gasp.

"Hey Lis, how are things down in sweatsville?" asked Bart as he leaned against the wall and started scribbling on the memo pad.

"Umm…well…is mom home?" asked Lisa.

"Yeah, she's busy pulling out a blueberry pie that she made for a little get together with me, Flanders, and Paige," said Bart.

"Oh thank God, I can kill two birds with one stone," said Lisa a heavy sigh.

"Why do you say that? …is something wrong?" asked Bart.

"Yeah, can you tell Mom that some mishap has occurred with Maggie and Dad's trip," said Lisa nervously.

"What do you mean a mishap?" asked Bart.

"Don't ask questions Bart, just do it please," said Lisa her voice now rising.

Bart could tell that this was not something to be taken lightly, something had happened and poor Lisa was having trouble explaining it, he wouldn't blame her though, bad news was always hard to explain to anyone. Bart quickly turned to Marge who was standing a few feet away from him waiting to hear what Lisa had to say, there was a big smile on her face, she loved hearing from her daughter.

"Lisa said that the rafting trip has had a mishap," said Bart.

"Mishap?" asked Marge as she quickly grabbed the phone from Bart and began to speak to Lisa.

"What do you mean a mishap?" asked Marge.

"Mom please don't freak out too much but either Dad, Maggie, Mr. Post, and Celia have been eaten by a fish or are now lost somewhere in the Amazon rainforest, I haven't gotten very good detail of it," said Lisa as she tried her hardest to sound like a responsible sibling.

"How long have they been missing?" asked Marge.

"Three days, it's been very rainy here so I think they got separated in a storm," said Lisa.

"Have they sent out a search party?" asked Marge who was now beginning to sound a bit upset about the whole thing.

"No not yet, apparently the club did not send the message until this morning," said Lisa.

"Then tell those people to get off their fat fanny's and find my husband and youngest daughter, that jungle is one of the worst places to be lost in!" said Marge who sounded like she was ready to hurt someone.

"I hinted at that too Mom, but I think they also want you down there to help," said Lisa.

"Why do they want my help? They know how to handle the area better than anyone can," said Marge.

"Because I know you can help find them, maybe make a piece of steak that Dad can smell," said Lisa.

"Your father is not a dog Lisa," said Marge sounding rather annoyed.

"Well I was only suggesting, can you please come down, they want me to help and I think it would help that once they have been found Dad would be very glad to see you again after being lost in there," said Lisa.

There was a long pause as Marge began to ponder the possibility of coming down. She did have a passport so she did not have to stop and get one, and flight would be free. If she did stay here, she would be worried sick about Homer and Maggie the entire time, waiting for a phone call and not moving from where she was sitting. Yes, helping to find them sounded more reasonable.

"Let them know I am looking for the first plane ticket out of here and I'm bringing Bart and Paige with me," said Marge before she hung up the phone.

Lisa stood there with the phone still stuck in her ear, Marge didn't even say goodbye to her. Apparently she was on a mission now, all Lisa could do was hang up the phone and exit the room. She had to talk to Reggie about what Marge had said and hoped that this search would end on a positive note.

* * *

A/N: Yeah I'm not too happy with the conversation between Marge and Lisa but that was the best I could do. Yeah this chapter was a bit boring as I continued to make you wonder where Homer and Riley are. But I promise you will find out in the next chapter. I also thought this chapter was going to be shorter than the others but apparently not, oh well. Well please review when you can, I will see you all hopefully before my birthday which is in April. Yay!


	15. Found

Now we must go back, back to the day all four had gotten separated after falling down the waterfall. Maggie and Celia made it out okay, but had traveled quite a few ways downstream before they were finally able to make it out of the river to a drier area. Homer and Riley though were a bit luckier.

Riley had fallen out of the raft and felt himself fall all the way to the bottom where he hit the water hard. He was momentarily stunned and sank to the bottom for a few moments before opening his eyes. He was startled to find himself underwater and quickly looked all around for the surface. When he finally found it, he pushed himself up for air as fast as he could. As soon as his lungs breathed in fresh air, he felt himself being dragged by the river. Riley knew that he had to fight the current or be swept away to who knows where. As soon as he could he grabbed a nearby rock and held on for a few minutes trying to weigh his options.

He looked from one bank to the other, the one on the right side had fewer rocks meaning he would be swept away even more by the river and he didn't want to do that in case Celia, Maggie and Homer were nearby. He looked to his left and saw that he was closer to the bank where one large flat rock sat just a few feet away. It was big enough for him to stand on and possibly jump onto land without having to fight the current more. Carefully Riley made his way toward the rock; he fought with all his might to grab it. It was a success and Riley quickly pulled himself out of the water and lay on top of the rock for just a moment so he could catch his breath. It felt good to be on something dry for a moment.

After a short rest, Riley stood up and surveyed the bank next to the rock. The rock did not touch the bank but it was a few feet away from it. He was tall enough and he could easily jump it. After balancing himself a bit, Riley leapt off the rock and landed in a sandy bank without any problems. Riley let out a sigh of relief, glad that he was able to survive the ordeal, but now he had to worry about his daughter and Homer and Maggie.

"Celia! Show yourself!" he called as he walked along the bank hoping to find any sign of his own daughter.

"Homer! Maggie!" He called again as he hopped up a nearby rock on the bank to see if he could spot them anywhere,

For fifteen minutes, Riley scoured the river as best he could, often finding an assortment of their supplies, some still in good use, while others gone to waste. He put them aside in one pile as he continued to look around. It wasn't until he found one of his waterproof bags that carried some of his clothes that he saw something. There was a small area where no water moved, almost like a miniature beach for a river and that was when he saw a familiar face lying on the bank.

It was Homer and he wasn't moving, luckily for him, his face was out of the water so at least Riley could run forward and take a good look at him. He had taken quite a beating and Riley knew he lost consciousness thanks to the large gash just above his eyelid. Seeing that made Riley panic, not because of the sight of blood, but because of the thought of his own daughter lying somewhere on the river bank, badly injured.

"Okay Homer, I need you to wake up and help me," said Riley as he shook Homer as hard as he could. But Homer would not respond. "Please Homer wake up! I would give you CPR but I was never taught how to do it…… I-I don't even know what CPR stands for," said Riley who was now starting to panic even more.

Riley looked down at Homer for a moment and then at the river and the trees around them. This was not good at all. He remembered how he used to play in his grandparents backyard when he was a child, how dark and spooky the forest looked. He was brave enough to play on the outskirts of it, but the outskirts of this jungle looked more terrifying than he remembered while rafting down the river and now he hoped that what he was about to do would get someone's attention.

"Help!" he cried as loud as he could. "Somebody! ……Anybody!" He paused for a moment realizing that he had heard those words before. "…I'm sounding like that Disney character over here!"

Riley stood there silently for a moment, hoping that someone would call back; the only answer that came was from a bird that quickly flew off into the jungle, its cries quickly disappearing. Riley turned back to Homer; he had to wake him up somehow. He had watched many movies where someone had to administer CPR on someone, perhaps he could do it from what he had seen.

He made his way forward and looked down at his friend; he couldn't tell if he was breathing, the water kept hitting him making it hard to see his chest rise up and down. But Riley knew that time was of the essence and bent down to open his mouth. As soon as he did so, Homer's tongue moved to the side of his face like a dog and his breath suddenly overpowered Riley.

"Whew! Homer, it's important to brush your teeth while on vacation! But I guess that means your breathing…do I still give you CPR?" Riley said with a confused face.

Riley wasn't sure what do to now and he was about to weigh in his options when he suddenly heard a rustle in the bushes. Riley looked up and stared, wondering if he had to protect his injured friend. He began to wonder what was hiding in the jungle now, he hoped it was not a jaguar, maybe a monkey, but what would a monkey do to help them. Probably just poke Homer in the eye. After a while though, the rustling grew louder and Riley was getting nervous.

"Whoever it is, could you please show yourself," he said without meaning to.

The rustling grew louder and he could see the bushes nearest to him rustle about as whatever it was was getting closer out into the open. Riley stood there and looked around for some kind of weapon; there was a rock nearby so he picked it up ready to throw if he had to. Finally after several intense seconds, the creature in question appeared and Riley let out a gasp of surprise.

At first, Riley thought about running, it was like he was staring back at something out of a Tolkien novel, only without so much paint. It was a native that was for damn sure, the short loincloth gave that away, that and the giant spear he was holding in his hand. But he could not abandon Homer and decided to stand his ground.

"Uhhh…Hello?" he said nervously.

The native stared back at him, his face covered in paints that Riley could not decipher if he was showing curiosity or anger for being in his territory. Riley stayed put; he did not want to make any sudden moves. Slowly the native moved forward its spear pointed at him, Riley backed away a little bit nervously causing him to land rump first into the water. Riley knew he could not move any further and braced for what was about to come.

"Taungtik!" A voice called from the trees a few seconds later.

Riley looked up and saw the native quickly back away as a woman, who did not look like she was of Amazonian decent, ran forward.

"Everything alright?" she asked as she bent down to look at Homer.

"I wish everything was alright but as you can see my friend here is hurt and I don't know where our daughters are," said Riley as he looked around the river hoping to spot them.

The lady moved forward and bent down to inspect Homer, she put her fingers on his wrist to find a heartbeat and then inspected the gash on Homer's head. Riley only watched while occasionally turning back to the river. After a few moments, the woman sighed and turned to Taungtik who had been standing over her shoulder the whole time.

Riley had no idea what she had said but as soon as she was done talking Taugtik ran back into the trees as fast as he could.

"What did you tell him?" asked Riley.

"Taungtik is going to get the other two warriors who were with us and they will bring your friend back to the village where he will be looked by our medicine man Shawlakhaanoytl," said the lady.

"Shawwana…er…Shawkaka, er uh," Riley stared back confused.

"Shawlakhaanoytl, I had a hard time saying his name the first time too, its easer to simply call him Shaw," said the lady.

"Still though, with a name like that he has to be good," said Riley.

"He is very good, your friend is in good hands, he's just unconscious right now but it's a good thing you all landed here, things would have ended a lot differently for you both," said the woman.

"I would say so, and am I correct in believing that you are American?" asked Riley.

"I am indeed," said the lady.

"Wonderful, then that means you and the crew that is documenting these natives can help us find our way back," said Riley with excitement in his voice.

The woman was about to respond when Taungtik returned with two other tribe members. One had a tarp he had been carrying but once he pulled it out it turned into something almost like a stretcher, this though was probably an easier way to carry things back to the village.

The woman quickly started giving out orders to them, most of the time it was in the strange language the natives talked but in a rare sentence Riley could hear some English involved. She apparently did not know all the words yet. After a brief conversation, the three natives carefully put Homer onto the sling and before long they made their way back into the forest taking Homer with them. Riley watched them nervously until the lady finally spoke up.

"Now you said you were missing your daughters?" the lady asked as she began to make her way along the bank of the river.

"Oh yes ma'am, I'm afraid they might be hurt bad like Homer was, that's my friends name, my name is Riley in case you were wondering. And do you have a way to get us back to the rest of our party?" asked Riley.

"Nice to meet you Riley, and unfortunately the nearest village is two days away and really I have no outside contacts," said the woman.

Riley looked back at her, a bit surprised by what she said. "How can you not have contacts, you look like some sort of biologist on a study mission, some group probably wants you to make contact from time to time."

"Well I am a biologist, the only problem is, my contacts don't know that I am alive," said the woman.

Riley looked back at the lady, he almost had that rare puppy dog look about him that he often gave when something confused him deeply. This conversation was no exception and after he took a good look at her he realized she did look a bit familiar.

"Judging by the way you are looking at me I would say you don't watch many documentaries," said the lady.

"No not really, that's my daughters job," said Riley who then gave a quick glance at the river.

"Well then I guess that's good, then I won't be given a big bear hug and then you yelling that I'm alive," said the woman.

"Oh don't worry about that, I know how to give people space, but you do look a bit familiar, who are you?" asked Riley.

"Well," began the woman as she continued to walk along the bank, "You ever heard of Alexander Steele?"

There was a long pause from Riley as he stared at her for a moment, trying to gather up the information, this suddenly felt like a weird dream. He remembered how Celia and Maggie would get excited when a new episode of Alex's show would come on and how they always talked about her. It also brought back memories from three years ago when Alex was thought to be dead, poor Celia was so distraught for days. There had been a major search but no body was ever recovered, Celia would often tell Maggie that she believed it was because the Piranha had eaten what was left of her. A gory thought for a nine year old to believe but it was possibly true, until now.

"The girls are big fans of you, they wanted to go on this trip because they wanted to have an adventure, too bad it turned out this way," said Riley while he began to stare at her again with curious eyes.

"You went down the wrong way didn't you?" asked Alex.

"Yes Ma'am, and now they're out there somewhere, lost, alone, with no idea if we are okay or not," said Riley his voice now sounding very upset as thunder began to rumble in the distance.

"Then we will continue questioning each other later, for now we need to find the girls before the storm hits," said Alex as she began to walk along the side of the river picking up debris and looking under every nook and cranny.

Riley watched her search for a moment, he knew he was lucky to have gotten stuck in this particular area where Alex Steele was, but now questions began forming in his mind. Why had she not shown herself to the world again? Why was she living with the natives? And could they find the kids in time? These thoughts kept brimming in his head and he wanted to ask her the first two questions. But for now though, he had to start searching.

Together Riley and Alex searched the river; Alex being the more experienced one in surviving the great outdoors searched the other side of the river, often finding things that belonged to the little group but nothing important enough to Riley.

They would look under rocks and call out to the girls but they would still not get an answer and after many hours of searching the day was getting shorter and a new storm was closing in. It was not until the first raindrops began to fall that Alex finally decided to call off the search.

"I know it's important that we find them Riley, but the storm is coming and I don't want to be here in a downpour," said Alex after she had crossed the river to join Riley again.

"But they'll be so scared out here all alone, I don't know if I can take leaving this place without finding them," said Riley as he inspected a spot he had already looked at a few times.

"I know Riley, I know, but we should get back to your friend, you probably want to know if he is okay," said Alex.

"I do," said Riley and that was all he said throughout the journey through the jungle. He followed Alex's every step and almost every word but most of the time he was thinking about the girls and where they might have gone. He got more worried for them as they moved deeper into the jungle and the thunder from the storm coming in became louder and the lightning looked more ferocious. Would they have a place to stay for the evening just like him? He felt terrible right now and he wanted to comfort them.

"Not much farther now," Alex said while bringing Riley out of a trance for just a moment.

Riley was about to respond when a native suddenly ran into the bushes and toward Alex with a surprised look on his face. The native spoke in his own language while Alex listened before turning to Riley.

"Sounds like Homer is starting to wake up, looks like we returned in time," said Alex as she moved through the undergrowth, Riley only a few steps behind, he hoped he could speak to Homer about the situation.

They reached a clearing and the entire tribe seemed to be in an uproar, they were all surrounding one hut, curious to see what was inside it. Alex only chuckled while Riley looked on with concern.

"Got the same treatment when I was brought here, though now they are probably surprised by his size or the lack of hair, one of the two," said Alex.

It wasn't long before a young boy came running out of the mêlée and toward Alex, his eyes bright and he seemed to be almost hopping toward them than running. Alex bent down to let the boy talk, it wasn't a long conversation because a moment later, Alex jumped up and grabbed Riley's arm before running into the tent.

As soon as Riley entered, Homer was not the first person he saw, instead he saw a young, thin man, possibly Shawlakhaanoytl bent down inspecting the man who lay in front of him. It was Homer and he was not quite awake yet, but Riley could tell he was slowly bringing himself out of consciousness by how he twitched a little and gave a small moan.

"Is everything alright?" asked Riley as he tried to move forward but Alex quickly pulled him back.

"He is alive, that's all I know at the moment," said Shawlakhaanoytl as he applied a special salve on Homer's injury.

"You speak English?" asked Riley in a dumbfounded voice.

"I know more languages than there are tributaries on the Amazon, a Medicine man, or shaman as many have called us, needs to know these things in order to understand the world around them," said Shaw as he looked up at Riley for the first time. Riley was surprised by how young Shaw looked, probably in his mid to late twenties, yet what he had just said seemed to make him sound older as if he had gained all the wisdom he needed as a young boy.

"Shaw has been the medicine man since he was twenty-three, the tribe had been without one for a year, after the old one had fallen out," said Alex.

"You watch the old medicine men and think whether or not you should or should not be like them," said Shaw with a serious face before turning back to Homer who was now beginning to wake up.

"Can I be beside him when he wakes up, I have had experiences waking up in a hospital during my college years and they were not pleasant," said Riley.

"You may, just be careful, you never know if something is broken, I had to yell at the warriors for carrying him the way they did in here," said Shaw as he looked at Alex and then at the entrance of the hut, the tribe was most likely still standing outside.

"I apologize Shaw, but Riley here seemed so lost and confused we had to help him quickly," said Alex while Riley moved forward and bent down next to Homer.

Shaw did not respond but watched as Riley bent down and waited while Homer slowly began to drift out of unconsciousness. Riley was patient though and stayed beside his friend, listening to the rain begin to fall outside. He hoped Homer had not sustained any life threatening injuries and that the children were all right by themselves in the storm. He would hopefully search again when the storm cleared.

"Ugh……w-w-where am I?" Homer called out as he opened his eyes.

"It's alright Homer, you're in a safe place," Riley said.

"Where's Maggie?" he said as he lifted an arm and began to rub his injured head.

Riley bit his lip and turned to Alex, he wasn't thinking that Homer would ask that question right away and now he had no idea how to respond.

"Riley?" Homer called worriedly as he tried to lift his head. "This is the weirdest hospital I've ever been too, why can't my bed go up?"

"You're not in a hospital Homer," said Riley.

Homer looked back at Riley with a clueless expression before turning to Shaw and staring at him the way a dog would stare a stranger they never met.

"You have something in your nose," said Homer once he noticed that Shaw had a nose piercing and tried to grab it, Shaw only backed away a little.

"Uh yeah, does anything hurt?" asked Shaw as he tried to ignore him.

"My back does, but it might be because I am not in a bed, and my head is pounding, but where is Maggie?" asked Homer as he continued to rub his sore head, Shaw finally handed him a wet cloth to keep the swelling down.

"We're looking for her Homer," said Riley.

"What do you mean?" asked Homer with a sudden look of worry on his face before giving a pained expression as he tried to sit up. Shaw pushed him back down, Homer was in no shape to sit up at the moment.

"She's out there somewhere and as soon as the storm clears we are going to look for her and Celia," said Riley.

"That's not good at all," said Homer as he shook his head and the look of worry soon etched into his face.

"But you have to stay here, looks like you got a bad concussion and you have to rest for a day or two," said Shaw as he started to mix up some kind of potion next to him.

"But my daughter," said Homer with a small whine.

"I know, your friend and Alex will take care of it, for now drink this, it will help you sleep and bring the headache down," said Shaw as he gave Homer the potion.

"Is it hot?" asked Homer remembering a time eleven years ago when he was stuck in Alaska trying to help his family.

"No, just a little bitter," said Shaw as he poured it down his throat.

Homer instantly made a face, but swallowed it so as not to get Shaw angry and have him pour more of the stuff down his throat. The stuff worked extremely well too because one moment Homer was smacking his lips wondering about the taste and then the next he closed his eyes and started to snore. Shaw let out a sigh before smiling at what he had done.

"He should have fallen asleep, it was enough to knock out a full grown jaguar, plus he did not need to worry so much like that, stress causes more problems," said Shaw.

Riley only nodded before Alex nudged him and motioned him to follow outside, Riley did so and as soon as he stepped out, he was met by a torrential downpour. The tribe had all made their way back to their own huts and Alex was leading Riley over to a small hut on the far side of the village. Alex lead the way in with Riley following, once Riley entered the room he found it to be quite spacious with a small bed on one side and a few provisions on the other like clothes and objects that Alex seemed to have found along the river.

"You can sleep on my bed tonight if you want," said Alex.

"Oh I don't know if I will sleep tonight, knowing that there are two young girls out there all alone," Riley admitted as he let out a sigh and looked back out the door where the rain fell heavily and the thunder boomed overhead.

"We'll look for them again in the morning, I promise," said Alex as she sat on her bed and watched Riley.

"I hope this rain stops then," said Riley as he sat down by the door.

"Wouldn't you rather sit down over here where it's a bit drier?" asked Alex.

Riley did not respond, instead he only sat there watching the rain fall in the little clearing of the newly found tribe. He was glad that Homer made it out of the river alright but now he was more worried about the girls. What would they be doing in this weather? Were they hurt? And were they just as scared as he was? He could barely stand it before he finally started to cry, he knew it was not a manly thing to do, but someone he loved was out there and he did not want to lose another family member.

"Please watch over them for me Charlotte," he said quietly before digging his head into his knees and waited for the storm to pass.

* * *

A/N: My apologies for the length of this chapter, I tried to edit it and make it shorter but this was the best I could do. Because of that I am a day late updating, I should have done it yesterday on my birthday but my concern with the length kind of changed that. But yeah there you go, I bet some of you are a bit surprised by the fact that she is alive; I thought it would be an interesting idea, and everything will be explained in the next chapter. If you don't like what I did, tough.

Please review when you can, I hope to update before not this weekend but the following weekend before I run away to Denver for a Science Fiction convention. I've wanted to do it for years and a friend I had not seen since high school goes every year. I asked her if I could come this year and she said yes, so I am excited, yay. Any way I hope you all have a nice week and I will see you around.


	16. A Wild Night

The next day came and went, as soon as the rains stopped and the dawn approached, Riley was up and waiting for Alex to bring him back to the river hoping that the day would be a better success. They searched all day, taking breaks in-between when the weather became rough again and sent them searching for shelter. They looked near rocks, under the tree roots that grew in the water and even investigated the back of the waterfall to see if there were any nooks and crannies that the girls might have sought shelter in. But there was no success and by around early evening Alex had to call it off so she could return to the village and help with the evening meal.

Riley felt terrible that he had not found the girls but did not argue with Alex because he was getting a bit hungry and knew he had to keep his strength up for when he had to go back out and search. They traveled back to the village; Riley was a little worried about what Homer might say when they returned, instead though before they even reached the clearing, Homer was running toward Riley like a scared puppy.

"Don't tell him where I am, I just got tired of laying there and wanted to walk around, I could not help it," said Homer before he ducked under some bushes.

"Homer, march yourself back here this minute! You are in no state to travel until tomorrow," Riley could hear Shaw call out near the clearing.

Riley stared at the medicine man for a minute before turning back to Homer who was trying to keep himself well hidden behind a bush. Apparently Homer was not the kind of person who enjoyed time around doctors, no one ever did.

"His medicine is gross!" Homer said as he made sure he emphasized the word gross.

"Gross or not, it still helps you get better, but I do have a plan," said Alex as she made her way forward.

She exited the clearing with Riley right behind her to see what kind of plan she had in mind to help Homer out. Shaw was standing nearby, his hands crossed and looking a bit peeved that Homer had run out on him. When he saw Alex he ran toward her with the kind of expression a father gave their child.

"Why can't you modern humans learn to rest when you are supposed to?" Shaw said angrily.

"Because we love giving you a hard time that's why," said Alex as she tousled Shaw's short hair.

"Well whatever the reason can you please bring him back," said Shaw.

"How about this, you go join the rest of the tribe by the fire and I will take care of Homer tonight and make sure he does not over do it," said Alex with a smile.

Shaw stared at Alex the same way any doctor would stare at their patient or a family member of that patient when something was not going right. Alex though stood her ground and did not give in, she only smiled. Finally Shaw threw up his arms in frustration and started walking away with a huff.

"Fine then, I'm just a medicine man, not qualified really like you said once, so what do I know," said Shaw who then walked away.

Alex smiled, it was always fun to watch Shaw walk away in frustration, he was a wise medicine man, but sometimes he was a bit stubborn. Alex then turned around and pushed back some leaves before calling out to Homer.

"It's alright now Homer, you may come out now," she called.

"No more gross medicine?" Homer asked meekly.

"No more gross medicine, well at least until later tonight," said Alex.

Homer nervously made his way forward, Riley had not seen him since this morning when he was barely awake and he did look like he felt better but still a bit woozy as he looked like he had just finished off a few beers. Riley made his way toward him and helped him stay steady as they made it back into camp.

"Now then, you both will stay with me tonight as we enjoy a delicious meal and I introduce you do the wonders of the rainforest," said Alex.

"If it gets our minds off the girls," said Riley.

"I will try my best," said Alex as she led the way toward the fire where the entire tribe was now standing around, some were singing songs, some were telling stories and others simply stared at the strange new people who were very different from them. One native in particular caught their eye. He was a young boy, probably eight or nine and he ran toward Alex, hugging her as tightly as he could and talking to her in his native language. Alex of course talked back to him but almost in a way that that was very motherly before the child finally got distracted and stared at Homer and Riley.

"I'm sorry I forgot to introduce you to the chief, this is Hatchatka," said Alex.

"The chief?" asked Riley surprised that such a young boy could be the chief of a lost civilization.

"Well he's not the chief yet, not until he is a little older, his father who was the chief passed away a few years before I arrived, his mother died giving birth to him. He was raised by his grandmother but she died a few months after I arrived and he was always fond of me. He is taken care of by another native but he usually prefers to be with me," said Alex.

"So who's the chief now?" asked Riley.

"Shaw is, but I help him so I guess it's sort of both of us," said Alex.

"Is that the reason why you have not shown yourself?" asked Riley.

"Sort of, but I took a much worse beating than Homer did so my recovery was much slower," said Alex

"Yeah, I mean falling down a waterfall is rough and missing all those rocks is a miracle," said Homer as he rubbed his injured head which had now become slightly bruised and a bit tender in that spot.

"It was a miracle for you, and for me as well, but let me tell you what happened," began Alex.

Both Homer and Riley sat forward ready to listen while they also ate the meal that was handed to them by one of the natives. They were very curious as to how Alex survived the dangerous rapids and how she spent all these years in this place.

"I remember letting go of Milo, but that's all I remember. Apparently Shaw found me while he was out collecting herbs and took me to the village where I woke up a few hours later confused and disoriented. I was badly injured, I received a concussion in almost the same spot Homer hurt himself but I had also dislocated my shoulder, broken two ribs, bruised a kidney and got this nasty scar on my calf here that took a bit longer than thought to heal. Anyone out here would have died if they had not received proper medical treatment, but Shaw took care of me for almost a month as I slowly recovered. By then I knew the search parties had given up looking for me and I had made friends here. Shaw taught me how to speak the language and in a few months time I found myself helping the natives and teaching lessons to little Hatchatka here. I felt that things would be okay without me, I had no idea how to find my way back any way and I had stopped hearing the helicopters that had been searching for me. I knew that Milo would go on doing what I did, I told him he should take over for me when I retired. Of course what happened wasn't retirement but you get the idea. So how is Milo doing?"

Riley looked at Homer nervously. Of course Homer was not really paying attention, he was busy eating his meal, apparently Amazon cooking was delicious. Finally Homer looked up and stared at Riley, there was confusion and some sort of sauce on his face.

"What?" Homer said with his mouth full. Riley knew he was the one who had to break the news, he wasn't familiar with Alex like he was with his daughters so he had no idea how she would take it.

"Well he forgot to turn off the camera when he went to save you so we saw most of what happened on some website, might have been YouTube, or Discovery channel, but that's not the point. He was so upset that you were gone that he said goodbye to us after that and disappeared, he hasn't been seen since," said Riley with a shrug.

Alex looked back at him, hoping that what Riley had told her was not true and that Milo was safe and sound back home teaching everyone about the fascination of different places in the world. Riley though did not change his facial expression and as he watched Alex, he noticed how sorrowful she looked. Alex had taken care of Milo for so long and now he had apparently believed that no one else would care about him and most likely took his own life.

I even told him once that even when things seem like they will never get better, they will, you can't give up. Hope is always on your side. I guess he didn't believe me," said Alex with a sigh before getting up and making her way to the hut. Riley sat there watching her, should he follow her and talk to her or simply let her think about what had happened.

"She once told me that Milo was one of her greatest pupils and for her to find out that he never made it back, well, it's best to leave her alone at the moment," said Shaw as he came forward carrying some herbs on a flat slab.

"Should we go comfort her?" asked Riley.

"You can later, for now let her be by herself, I have some things to show you that I hope you more advanced humans will learn to use if you ever figure out how the forest works," said Shaw.

"So this is not for me?" asked Homer as he stared at the different herbs standing in front of him.

"No, I'm gonna be nice and wait for later, for now though since things are quiet and the storm is not arriving for a while I think it's a good time for me to share the forests secrets," said Shaw.

Homer and Riley looked down at all the herbs that lay before them, some looked very simple, others more elaborate and complex as if they can cure any horrible disease that was known to man.

"Now this little red flower here is what I call Saloplax, just a name really that seemed to fit it but what it does is that it helps clean wounds like the one on your head Homer. You don't eat it, you just pound it down to create a paste and stick it to where you are bleeding," said Shaw as he passed the flower to both of them. Riley looked at it carefully and admired its beauty. It was amazing what one small plant could do to help save a life.

"Now this one is interesting because we had been eating it for years and Alex figured out its healing properties when one of our villagers had a very strange illness, he was not eating and he was losing weight. He was tired all the time and his breathing was shallow," said Shaw.

"Did you figure out what it was exactly?" asked Homer.

"Alex believed it was what you call cancer, can't remember where exactly she believed it was, I just thought he had a parasite, but whatever it was we decided to ground twenty leaves of this plant with a bit of this small plant here, with a few other herbs, add some mango juice, make them drink it for a few weeks and he actually did much better," said Shaw.

"So he survived?" asked Riley.

"Alive and well, of course Alex said that if she ever wants to return to civilization she will hand it over to researches to see what kind of cures this plant can give," said Shaw as he handed both Riley and Homer a leaf.

The two men stared at the strange leaf, it looked so normal like a regular blade of grass, but this one split in two down the middle with a little bit of fuzz near the top. Riley sniffed it to see if it had any scent, even though it was like grass, it did not smell like grass but more like some sort of flower. Homer on the other hand believed that since it could be eaten quickly took a bite and immediately regretted it.

"You guys eat this stuff?" He asked as he tried to spit the plant out.

"I know it's bitter but you get used to it after a while, we like it because it's the perfect food for when you are hungry. Keeps you full during tough times," said Shaw.

"Well I hope I don't have to eat that again anytime soon, blegh!" exclaimed Homer as he took a big drink of water.

"Well then if you have a parasite or that other disease don't come running to me," grumbled Shaw as he rummaged through his herbs this time picking up a long pipe and lighting it up before taking one long smoke.

"So what is this?" asked Riley in a very curious voice.

"This is our special herb we use to calm down on after a long hard day. Now I will offer this to you but Alex tried this as well and she was very loopy for a few hours. She told me afterward that it seemed much more potent than this drug you guys at home use, Mar-mar……." Shaw fumbled with the words.

"Marijuana," said Riley.

"Yes that was it, so take small doses, especially you Homer, I haven't tried it on anyone with a concussion," said Shaw as he first handed it to Riley who stared at the pipe for a moment.

"I bet I can handle this, I was sort of a bad influence during my sophomore year in college, almost had to drop out because of what I had done," said Riley as he took a long smoke.

"Riley? A rebel?" asked Homer with a surprised voice.

"Yeah I know I am a quiet one but that was after I got married and had kids, I promised Charlotte that I wouldn't do it again, I loved her too much, I didn't want to part from her," said Riley as he took one more long puff before giving it to Homer.

Homer grabbed the pipe and took a long swig, of course he had his fare share of Marijuana once before but that was years ago and had only lasted a few weeks. Plus he had a concussion and before Homer knew it, he felt very lightheaded. Moments later he was lying on his back with a smile on his face.

"Woo, now that's one amazing Amazonian drug," said Homer as he stared back at Riley who was only now beginning to feel some of the side effects. Shaw only watched, they were different from what Alex had gone though. Alex had instantly run around for a few hours causing mischief before finally collapsing in a heap by the fire and not waking up for a few hours. But other natives had done the same thing that Homer and Riley were doing so Shaw felt it was safe to leave them for a moment before deciding to go check on Alex.

Both Homer and Riley lay there for a moment quietly watching the stars and the smoke from the fire billow up into the sky. To any normal person at that moment, it would be nothing spectacular but this was a different situation one that both would probably regret in the morning.

"It's fascinating watching the stars get all hazy like that," said Riley.

"Yeah, it's like they are all bright and then the next second they are all boring and stupid," said Homer with a giggle.

"Stupid stars, can't they move when the smoke comes near them," said Riley.

"No because they are STUPID!" exclaimed Homer before giggling insanely.

"Stupid, that's a great word right there, stuuuupid," said Riley.

"Like stupid Flanders, that's my neighbor, I am so glad I did not get stuck with him this time," said Homer.

"That's another great word…" Riley paused and scratched his nose.

"What word is that?" asked Homer.

"I already said it man," said Riley.

"No you didn't, you just said it was a great word, now are you talking about the word it or just another word?" asked Homer.

"I meant neighbor, it sounds like a boring horse because of 'neigh' and 'bore,' neighbor. And how can you love someone if they are such a bore?" asked Riley.

"I don't know you might have to ask my wife about that one," said Homer.

"Why your wife?" asked Riley.

"……I don't know," said Homer with a very confused face now.

Again the two men were silent for a moment and listened to the tribe go about their business. It was a quiet evening; they could hear the tribe talk quietly, a few children laughing, and the sound of creatures of the jungle calling out into the night. It felt like paradise to them but of course paradise needs some entertainment and Riley was the first to question the idea.

"You know if we are in a resort like this, I'm surprised no one is dancing the night away," said Riley.

"We're in a resort?" asked Homer with a confused look on his face.

"Of course we are, why else would those people walk around half naked?" asked Riley, apparently another side effect of the drug was that locations changed. Did this mean that their worry for the girls had temporarily subsided?

"Hey you're right; perhaps I should get this party started. Could you give me some rhythm?" asked Homer as he jumped up and began to sway his hips back and forth.

"Well let me see what I can cook up in this happy little head of mine," Riley began as he tried to remember a song that he liked. The he remembered a favorite of his, one that he danced to with Charlotte when they went on a cruise to the Bahamas, a night that was most special to both of them. They did not know about it for another month but Charlotte was finally carrying their first born, Paige. Eighteen years ago, boy did time go by fast! At the moment Riley believed she and Celia were hiding somewhere and would probably return soon, but that was not important, Homer needed a song. "You know the Rhythm of the Night Homer?"

"Hmm, I have to hear the lyrics and the beat," said Homer who apparently didn't care about the lyrics because he was now dancing causing the natives to look up and stare at him.

"Alright then Homer," Riley began as he started humming the tune and grabbed an empty bowl to use as drums before finally singing. "When it feels like the world is on your shoulders, and all the madness has got you going crazy. It's time to get out, step onto the street, where all the action is right there at your feet. Well I know a place where we can dance the whole night away, underneath the electric stars. Just come with me and we can shake your blues right away, you'll be doing fine when the music starts!"

"Hey you're a good singer there Riley," said Homer as he kicked up sand and danced around like an idiot waving his arms and trying to get the natives to so as well. The natives of course only watched with confusion, did this man suddenly catch a fever or were other people like this in his village?

"Hey I try." Said Riley as he tried to remember the lyrics. "Uhhhh…let's see…oh yeah! To the beat of the rhythm of the night, dance until the morning light. Forget about the worries on your mind, you can leave them all behind. To the beat of the rhythm of the night, oh the rhythm of the niiiiiiighttt!"

As Riley sang, Homer ran around the natives, waving his arms and hoping that at least one of them will get the message. Finally it was Hatchatka who decided to join in on the fun and began waving his little arms around while also encouraging others to join in. At first a few jumped up and nervously started to dance, then a few more until finally the entire tribe was waving their arms while Homer danced around them and turning into the life of the party. Now Hatchatka was no longer nervous about the new people in the village and soon he was beside Homer dancing the same way he danced while both tried to match the rhythm that Riley had down.

"Looks like you got a fan there Homer!" Riley yelled with excitement.

"I don't have a fan Riley, I got a dance partner!" said Homer as he grabbed Hatchatka on his shoulders. Hatchatka squealed with delight as he bounced up and down on Homer's shoulders while Homer continued to dance with still trying to steady the young boy on his head. After a few moments, Hatchatka decided it was time to do something else and jumped off Homer. Homer watched as Hatchatka ran toward the giant fire in the middle of the group and jumped right over it without being burned. Homer was so amazed by what the young boy did; he had to try it for himself.

"Hey Riley, watch me jump over this," said Homer.

Now the fire was like a bon fire, big and hot, Hatchatka was a child who had been trained all his life to do it. Homer was simply stoned out of his mind and believed that he could do anything. Luckily Shaw was just now leaving the tent with Alex behind him when he saw Homer getting ready to jump.

"Great, Maatcha's spirit!" he cried out when he noticed how Homer seemed to showing interest in jumping over the fire. That and tribe shouting encouragement to him to do so. Even though Shaw was a very skinny man, living in the Amazon did give him some strength, especially when having to deal with a less than simple task. Homer was two hundred and thirty-nine pounds, Alex believed Shaw was around one hundred and sixty, maybe lighter, but that did not stop him from bringing down Homer right in front of the entire tribe, just before he was about to jump.

"What the hell? Can't you see the audience loves me?" Homer cried out as Shaw held Homer down while he called a few of the members of the tribe to help pick him up and bring him back to Shaw's hut.

"I knew I should not have left you, you are coming with me this instant," said Shaw as he grabbed Homer by the ear once he was back on his two feet. Shaw did not need assistance once Homer was steady; he had this under control while Homer cried out the entire way, yelling at him to let him go. Shaw of course simply ignored him and Homer's cries could be heard even in the hut as Shaw calmed him down.

Riley stood up and listened to Homer bicker while staring at the empty bowl, the night of fun had now ended and the drug was now starting leave his system. Definitely a quick working drug. A moment later, Alex made her way toward him. She rubbed her eyes, not because she had been crying but because she had been laughing so hard, the smile on her face proved that. Riley only smiled nervously back at her before Alex put her hand on his shoulder, happy that something new and exciting had gone on within the tribe. Finally, after catching her breath, Alex decided to ask a question that had been bugging her for the two of the three years she was gone.

"So tell me Riley, is Keith Richards still alive?"

* * *

A/N: Well that was a fun chapter, probably the most random thing you guys have ever read. Just thought it would be fun to see what would happen if two lost guys get a little too much Amazonian nature in them. But yeah that was fun; hopefully you all enjoyed it as well. And my goodness, another long chapter! I remember when I first started out on this site how I had to push myself to get past ten pages, crazy. Now that the fun is over, I think it's time to get back to what I do best, serious stuff. The next few chapters you will get to know Riley, Milo, and Cuzkaal. And as an early warning, Cuzkaal's will be dark. Oh and I forgot to mention in the last chapter that I am only halfway done. I think this story might reach thirty chapters, yeah long I know so brace yourselves for more, hopefully I can get this done by the end of the summer but we will see.

For now though please review when you can and please read and review CalculatedChaos' stories, he deserves more than what he has. And if you can try to talk bdlywrttn into finishing her story as well, it's in the Mulan section, she has worked on it for two years and she is almost done but keeps taking her sweet time. So go bug her for me please. Other than that have a nice week everyone, I will update when I can.


	17. Work and Worries

Homer disliked sleeping in Shaws hut; for one thing the bedding was not at all soft for his body, especially his back. And the other reason was due to the annoying sun glare that hit him right in the eye, and this was something he was in no mood to tolerate especially after last night. Grumpily he covered his face with the blanket Shaw had given him, not the best blanket in the world though, there were little holes that let the sunlight in and kept him from sleeping longer. This morning was not working out for him at all.

"Rise and shine Homer," Shaw's voice called out from the entrance before he felt Shaw kick him in the foot.

"I'll rise but I won't shine for you," said Homer with a grumble as he kept his head covered hoping that Shaw would go away.

"I guess I can handle that, my patients are always this way," said Shaw as he grabbed the other end of the blanket and pulled as hard as he could. Of course Homer had a strong grip when he wanted and hung on before the blanket ripped apart and sent Shaw flying into the wall behind him. Shaw stood there for a moment a bit stunned but alright, he looked down at Homer who still covered his face but he could see that the old man was laughing at his expense. "Perhaps you are a special case."

"You told me I needed to rest and rest I shall," said Homer as he peeked out of the blanket.

"That was yesterday and the day before; I believe your concussion is no longer as bad as it was, even after last night. Besides I need you to help me with a few things," said Shaw as he sorted through his shelf.

"I was gonna go help Riley and Alex find the girls," said Homer as he stood up and rubbed his eyes, there was no use sleeping any more with Shaw on his case.

"Oh they actually left about an hour ago, I told them I needed you here," said Shaw.

"Awoh! Why I am so important to you?" asked Homer.

"Because I need someone to help me with chores today," said Shaw as he took down an ax from the wall and handed it to Homer.

"Are we cutting off heads?" asked Homer with a worried look on his face.

"Of course not, the wood for the fire is getting low so I need you to cut down a few trees for me," said Shaw as he made his way out of the hut. Homer sat there for a moment, pondering the situation. He remembered how Lisa was an advocate against cutting down trees; he could get out of this.

"Hey isn't this a bad thing, I mean we are cutting down parts of the rainforest," said Homer as he jumped up and ran after Shaw who was making his way into the jungle.

"Not if you cut down one or two trees, and truthfully I didn't know you cared about the forest like that," said Shaw with a giggle.

"No it's my other daughter Lisa, she is a big advocate on protecting the forest," said Homer hoping that maybe he could get off the hook.

"Oh I see, but what she doesn't know can't hurt her right?" said Shaw as he nudged Homer in the ribs.

Damn! There was no way out of this, he was going to have to chop wood whether he liked to or not. Homer of course had done it before, and his arms were always aching afterward so this was going to be interesting later on without anything to help with the aching joints. Shaw would probably have something but he would have to find out later.

It wasn't long before, Shaw brought Homer to a clearing where several tree stumps sat with vines growing over them; apparently this place had been used for many years. Shaw looked around at the trees as if he was shopping for the perfect one that Homer could cut down for him.

"This place has been used since before I was born; notice how the place replenishes itself just by how the vines grow over the stumps. As long as you don't clear the entire forest, the place will grow back fast and things will start anew," said Shaw as he took a knife and cut off a leaf which he quickly put into a sack.

"Yadda, yadda, yadda," Homer said under his breath, the last thing he needed was a medicine man teaching him the ways of life and spirituality.

"But that's not why we are here; I think this tree has spent his life long enough. Go ahead and bring him down and cut them into pieces about three feet long. When you are done, bring this one down and bring the logs back to my hut where they will stay," said Shaw as he began digging around near another tree stump.

"Are you gonna help me with this?" asked Homer.

"Nope, you are on your own, but if you need anything, just call for me and I will come, if I don't then just follow the trail back to the village. One of the guys will help you, even if they don't understand what you say they'll still follow you back here," said Shaw.

Homer gave a grunt of annoyance at what he had said and was about to reply when Shaw quickly disappeared from view. He was now on his own, left to do someone else's work. He knew there was no way of talking himself out of this; Marge wasn't around to approve of that, so he began to chop the tree down.

All day he worked, he brought down the first tree in no time at all and chopped all the wood into neat little piles before moving onto the next tree. This tree was a bit wider and took some muscle to bring it down. He ended up having to take a break from it, he made his way back to the village where he sat down near a rock and took a big heavy drink of water that Shaw had stored behind the hut. He watched the kids play for a bit and watched some villagers make a new bow; it was really a fascinating place, too bad he had to work under the cover of trees.

Apparently, while Homer was taking a break, he dozed off. He had no idea how long he had dozed off but when he awoke, he found himself staring nose to nose with Shaw, he looked a little peeved but who could blame him?

"Uhh…hi," Homer said nervously.

"Couldn't finish a task huh?" asked Shaw.

"I did half of it, that should count, I just needed to relax, and well you know what happens when fat people relax," said Homer.

"Actually I don't, our people move around too much to get fat, but now that you are awake it's time to go back to work," said Shaw.

"But that last tree was so hard and my back is kind of sore now, do you think you can use your Amazon magic to bring it down?" asked Homer as he rubbed his back.

"I'm not that kind of Medicine man Homer but I will help you just this once, that way I can keep my eye on you," said Shaw as he made his way back into the trees with Homer following him.

It turned out that having a second man on the job had some advantages, the work was done faster and Shaw was able to bring down the tree in no time while Homer chopped up all the wood. They brought the wood back to Shaw's hut and they were done with the chore before dinner even started.

Once all the wood was moved, Homer sat down by the fire and watched as Shaw began cooking up a meal while the natives sat nearby as they talked about their day or made jokes. One showed off his new bow and of course some of his friends wanted to test it out, including Hatchatka who seemed to be very popular in the village for a boy his age. It was probably the future chief thing, but whatever the reason, it was fun seeing the young boy interact.

Homer would have joined the natives if he had any idea what they were saying, but he was also sore and tired and ready to go to bed as soon as Riley returned, hopefully with the two girls following him close behind. Homer was starting to worry more and more about Maggie and the chore he did today did get his mind off his daughter, but now that he was resting, his mind was racing as to where she was and if she was okay.

Riley did return early enough before the sun disappeared, Alex was first to come out of the jungle followed by Riley who was moving slowly out as if he was not ready to quit any time soon. The entire village gave a hoot and a holler as Alex returned and she quickly waved back at them before turning back to Riley. From where Homer was sitting, he noticed that his friend looked quite upset, he was about to get up and go find out if there was any luck, when he saw Alex put her hand on his shoulder, giving him a pep talk. It wasn't long before Riley went full force at Alex and hugged her tightly, she must have comforted him in a way that he liked. Finally Alex moved away and made her way to the hut, leaving Riley standing there watching her go.

He stayed there and did not move, almost as if he was waiting for Alex to return and hug him, Homer decided to go to him and hopefully get him to sit down and have some dinner.

"Still no luck?" Homer asked as he made his way toward him.

"No," Riley sighed sadly never taking his eyes off of Alex's hut.

"You okay?" asked Homer as he patted his friend on the shoulder.

Riley turned to Homer and looked at him sadly in the eyes, "she's helped me so much, but I'm still so worried," he said.

"I know, I am too, let's sit by the fire and get you something to eat, you must be starving," said Homer.

"Not right now, you wouldn't mind coming with me to the overlook will you?" asked Riley.

"I don't mind," said Homer as he followed Riley back into the jungle.

The overlook was an outcropping not too far from the village; it was a great place to scan the horizon at what was going on. The warriors were known to stand there for hours searching for signs of animals or other warrior tribes who would attack the village, luckily that was a rare thing. Not only was it a place to scan the area, but it was also a good place to think, Riley had found Alex there on the first night after she had disappeared for a few moments.

At the moment, the sky was changing colors as the sun was setting for the day; the first glimpse of a star showed itself where the light was no longer touching. Far off in the distance, lightning illuminated the warning of a coming storm that would reach the area in a few hours. Riley sat on the edge of the outcropping and was quiet for many moments, Homer only stood there wondering how long he would be here and beginning to wonder if Shaw had any special soothing cream for his sore joints.

"Sit down Homer," Riley said after a few moments.

"I'll see what I can do, Shaw gave me a few chores today," said Homer as he slowly set himself down beside Riley who did not look back, only stared out into the distance, his eyes showed concern and sadness and Homer had no idea what to say to him now.

"I don't want it to happen again Homer," said Riley after a long moment of silence.

"What do you mean?" asked Homer, he sort of knew but he did not want to offend Riley in any way.

"I don't want to lose another loved one, then all I'll have is Paige and I love her to death but I don't think I can handle another loss," said Riley.

Homer was not known for comforting anyone, so naturally he kept his mouth shut, he did not want to offend since he had never lost anyone to a horrible accident before. He wanted to keep their friendship secure; he did not want Riley to be angry with him the rest of the time.

"I mean you're lucky, your wife is alive and well, you have a son and daughter who take care of themselves, and of course Maggie is still living with you, what more could you want?" Riley exclaimed.

"A better job is one thing I've wished to have," said Homer.

"As long as you are there for your family, promotions aren't all that great, believe me, it screwed up my life, Charlotte would probably still be here if I hadn't been gone so much," said Riley with a heavy sigh.

"How long's it been?" asked Homer.

"Five years," said Riley as he wiped a tear from his eye.

"Five years!!!! Aren't you ready to go out and find someone new! I mean, I've noticed that you've liked to be with Alex, I bet she can give you the things you've been missing." said Homer as he raised his eyebrows and gave Riley a friendly nudge.

Riley balanced himself after receiving the friendly so called 'nudge' and before Homer could even say another word, Riley smacked him with a heavy blow right on the side of the face. Homer was knocked backwards by the blow and barely had time to react as Riley stood above him, eyes blazing and his finger almost touching his nose.

"Love is rarely a rational thing! You wouldn't know though because you never lost a loved one! I have and you can't forget someone you loved that easily Homer!" Riley said angrily

"I was only giving you a suggestion," said Homer as he rubbed his face, a little surprised by how strong Riley could be when he wanted to be.

"Suggestion or not, how can you even think like that! There are two missing girls out there, one of them is yours, the other is mine. Have you even thought about what might be happening to them? What if they have no food? What if they have been attacked by some wild animal? What if……" Riley slowed down and looked toward the trees nervously. "What if......they drowned?" He said sadly as he kept his eyes away from Homer, too afraid to really cry in front of him.

"You can't talk like that, you got to stay strong," said Homer as he jumped up to help comfort Riley while ignoring the pain that was throbbing slightly on his cheek.

"I know, I know, but DAMN IT HOMER!! I just can't help but run every possible scenario thought my head again and again as I search for them!" said Riley as he crossed his arms almost as if he was cold while he stared out into the dark jungle. There was now nothing but stars and the silhouette of the trees while the occasional flicker of lightening went off in the distance.

"But you have to think positive, I know my daughter is alive and so is yours because mine will do whatever she can to keep them both together. I have two other kids who used to go on adventures all the time, sure they got into trouble but I could always count on them coming home safely," said Homer before Riley through his arms up in the air with frustration at what Homer just said.

"Oh of course you should think positive, especially after you tell me I should go right ahead and make love to a woman I've known for only three days. How can I think positive when I am stuck with an idiot like you!" said Riley in a frustrated voice.

Homer stood there stunned by Riley's reaction, Riley sure knew how to tell it like it was and now he speechless for the time being. There was a long silence between both of them, but Homer knew he had to break the ice again sooner or later whether Riley liked it or not.

"I may be an idiot, but I know better than to give up, call it instinct or whatever, but I know they are out there waiting to be found," said Homer as he took a seat on a rock, he was willing to try to talk to Riley more if he let him.

"I wish I had instinct for that, it's just……oh never mind you wouldn't understand," said Riley as he waved his arm away at Homer.

"I bet I could, I'm all ears right now for you, I'll try not to say something stupid," Homer promised as he gave Riley his stupid trademark grin.

Riley looked back at Homer and then gave a heavy sigh, he knew this was going to be hard to tell Homer without crying, it never was easy for him even when someone he barely knew asked him about his wife.

"It's just hard for me to believe that there is hope especially after watching Charlotte pass right in front of my eyes. I didn't even get to say goodbye or that I loved her. I could only stand out in the hall with the girls as they tried to revive her. It never would have happened if I had remembered to pick up the girls in the first place. I got busy and forgot; she called and yelled at me for not doing that one simple task, and then less than an hour later I get a call from the police saying that she was in a bad car accident and that it didn't look good. Luckily it was before she got the girls, but I was so scared as I picked them up and drove them to the emergency room. All I could do after they tried to save her was kneel in that hallway and cry my eyes out with the girls. There was nothing else we could do, I was now a single parent who had to take care of his girls and that meant giving up that promotion I had received two years ago."

Homer was speechless, Maggie had been friends with Celia for seven years, but he never remembered when this all happened. Of course he never remembered anything, and now he just felt terrible for Riley and wished that the girls would appear in front of them right then and there.

"Homer I want you to think about this for a moment, I want you to delve deeply into your mind and think about how you would feel if you lost your wife and then tell me," Riley said through the tears.

Homer said nothing but closed his eyes, he thought about seeing Marge in the hospital and then Dr. Hibbert coming out to tell him and the kids that there was nothing he could do to help her. Then he thought about what it would be like coming home and Marge not being there to greet him. He thought about waking up the morning to an empty pillow beside him, the loneliness of falling asleep at night without her by his side. He thought about him coming home with only his kids to greet him, who were also special to him, but without Marge there, everything seemed empty. Homer didn't even know it until after he was done thinking hard, but there were tears running heavily down his face, he tried to wipe them away but they kept coming.

"I would be broken hearted, I would only have the kids to look up to and that would only make life worth living," he said through the tears.

"And that's why I am so worried about Celia right now, she and Paige are my pride and joy and I don't want anything to happen to them. Just remember Homer, you often forget about the little things in life that matter and you don't realize how important they are to you… until you lose them," said Riley.

Homer only nodded, he did not need to say anything, Riley had explained what was going on and made him think. Hope was all he needed right now and his hope for finding the girls was the most important thing on his mind, he hoped he could go out there with Riley tomorrow and searched. He hoped that the girls were out there somewhere safe and warm. If they were, he wondered if they were missing their fathers almost as much as their fathers were missing them.

* * *

A/N: A huge thank you to Chaos once again for helping me get started on the Riley part. I had been stuck for days trying to come up with something good for you guys. Finally I had to ask for help and Chaos gave me some great lines that are now in there. It's probably a little too sappy but that was the best I could do, so if you don't like it then tough, I tried. Also thank you to Bdlywrttn who is very good at being a little cheerleader, hee hee.

Hopefully the next chapter you won't have to wait too long for, I have one more week of classes and then summer break is here. So updates might be more frequent, unless I get stuck again and have to call for help to dig my way out. But still I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please review when you can, I will see you all soon.


	18. Maggie and Milo

That same night, just around the same time Riley shared his feelings to Homer, Maggie was trudging her way through a small forest trail that led to a nearby marsh. Milo was there and she wanted to talk to him. For the past hour she had been sitting around with Celia talking about her day of searching for their fathers over by the river. It was an unsuccessful day and Maggie was exhausted from following Milo from place to place. She had wanted to rest and eat, but during the meal, Celia was getting anxious again and an argument erupted between them. Now Maggie just wanted to be away from Celia for a bit to cool down. She was no longer tired and since she had not really talked to Milo all day, she wanted to get to know him more.

Carefully she made her way through the jungle with the use of a small torch she had found near Cuzkaal's hut to help her light the way. A few times she was startled by the sudden movement of some sort of lizard, and once even a giant moth, but she kept going. She had fire with her and she knew that that alone would help keep dangerous animals at bay.

Finally, the trees disappeared and the sound of frogs croaking and jumping among the reeds told her that she was where she needed to be. She looked around for any signs of Milo, she had learned after today that he could be very swift when he wanted to be and also be very silent. Finally she searched for some light, knowing that he would need to see what he was doing. She soon found it, in a spot a few feet away but she could not see his silhouette, carefully she moved closer.

"Milo?" she called out nervously when she got close enough.

There was splash and some explicatives before she saw his head poke out from among the reeds. Maggie backed away a bit, afraid he would go after her for losing a fish.

"What are you doing out here?" he called with a grumble.

"Sorry Milo, I just wanted to see what you were doing is all, if I'm bothering you I can go back," said Maggie as she backed away and looked down at the path that sent her back to Milo's camp.

Milo stood up with a fish in his hand and limped toward the bank where he deposited the fish into a large basket, inside lay three other fish still gasping for breath. Maggie stared at them before making a face and then looking back up at Milo who looked at her quizzically, almost like he was studying her.

"Eh I guess I can have company for one night, it's not every day I get to have two lost kids running around with me," said Milo as he ducked down among the reeds again.

Maggie let out a smile and moved closer to the bank where she could see Milo digging through the water like a raccoon she had seen by a stream near her house. It was sort of comical looking and she let out a giggle. Milo turned around and looked back at her.

"You're laughing because I look like a giant frog aren't you?" asked Milo.

"Actually no, I was actually thinking of the raccoon I saw by my house once, you look like him with the way you are dipping your hands in the water," said Maggie with a smile.

"If I was hunting like a raccoon I wouldn't be catching anything, since there is no light you can't see it, which is great because it means that the fish can't see my net either," said Milo as he lifted up part of the net for Maggie to see. She could still barely see it herself even with the torch in front of her, she could see part of it glitter like a spider web before Milo set it down really fast and went after another section of the net.

Maggie watched in suspense as Milo dug around the net before finally pulling up part of it to reveal a wiggling fish in the net. Milo stared at it for a moment but did not grab the fish, finally he turned to Maggie.

"Hand me your torch please," he said.

Maggie passed her torch to him while he stared at the fish for a moment. "Damn!" he finally responded. "I hate getting a stray piranha."

"What's wrong with a piranha?" asked Maggie.

"Not a good fish," said Milo as he handed the torch back to Maggie. "And I hate getting these damn things out of the net."

Maggie watched as Milo picked up as much netting as he could and held onto the fish with one hand while untangling it in the net with the other. It took a few moments to get everything untangled and Maggie watched at how skilled he was at doing it. Milo must have caught a few piranha in his day to in able to get them out without being torn to shreds.

It wasn't long before Milo finally got the fish out and threw it back into the marsh as far as he could from the net. Hopefully the fish would not swim back. Then without much of a shrug, Milo bent back down and dug through the net again.

"So how many fish do you plan to catch?" asked Maggie.

"As many as there are in the net, I am almost done though so that might be all of them," said Milo without looking up from his task. Maggie didn't have to wait too long; Milo was finished a few minutes later and returned to the bank to bring the fish back to the camp.

"So is that dinner tomorrow night?" asked Maggie.

"If you're not hungry in the morning, yes," said Milo as he picked up the basket and began following the trail back to camp.

"So we are not going to have those really good eggs we had this morning?" asked Maggie.

"Nope, it takes a while to actually acquire those types of eggs and it's usually Cuzkaal's job, he says is a very risky procedure and only does it on special occasions," said Milo.

"…Oh," said Maggie with a dejected sounding voice.

"You sound disappointed, do I sense you do not like fish for breakfast?" asked Milo with a smirk.

"Only if I live in backwards land," said Maggie.

"Heh, I know it's not a good morning meal, but it's the only thing you can find out here in this crazy jungle. IHOPs aren't known to hide behind trees," said Milo.

"I bet you do miss the good food from home though, pancakes and waffles and BLT's and brownies," Maggie said, her mouth watering.

"Now chocolate I miss, I was hoping Cuzkaal knew how to make that stuff seeing as we are in South America, but apparently he is not familiar with it. I did try to make chocolate from a cacao pod once but it ended in disaster," said Milo.

"Do you ever try to go to the nearest city or village and grab yourself some without anyone noticing it's you?" asked Maggie.

"I thought about that, but then I remembered that I needed money," said Milo as he set down the basket of fish next to a tree that had a rope hanging down it.

"What are you doing with the fish now?" asked Maggie.

"I have a storage area up here where I keep things, it's a good place to store food, especially when the hut can get a little crowded," said Milo as he tied the basket around the pole. He then sat down on a swing and began hoisting himself up with the basket in his lap. "I'll invite you up once I'm up here."

Maggie waited for her chance to make her way up the tree, she was used to the little two by four ladders that were stuck in the tree at her house, this system Milo was using looked a bit precarious and she wasn't sure about it at first. Milo then set it back down for her and she studied it for a moment, trying to figure out how to sit on it properly since the rope that was holding it made it look like a weird sort of seat belt in the shape of a triangle.

"Just put your feet through and sit down," Milo yelled from above.

Maggie did as she was told and once she figured it out, she was slowly being hoisted up the tree. What amazed her too was that it was not as bad as it had turned out to be, in fact it was kind of fun as the vines began to disappear and she had almost made it up to the canopy before the swing brought her up onto the storage tree house that Milo built. It was a modest tree house, made from what looked like bamboo reeds in the pond she had just left. How the tree house stayed in the tree was something Maggie was definitely curious about and bent down to look closely at two connecting reeds.

"If you are wondering how I did it, I used a special sap from the trees that actually make very good adhesive," exclaimed Milo as he hung the fish up on a special vine that he made.

"Do you ever worry about animals coming in here and stealing things?" asked Maggie.

"Sometimes, I did catch a squirrel monkey in the act of stealing some fruit once, but really this tree is high up enough that not many animals investigate," said Milo.

"I guess it's nice having this place to yourself where you can sit out there and watch the day go by," said Maggie.

"Yeah it's a good place to think about how life has been going and if it's worth ever going back to the old life," said Milo as he poured a drink into a gourd for Maggie to have. Maggie took a cautious sip before sloshing the drink around in her mouth. She then swallowed and then looked up at Milo.

"Well?" asked Milo.

"It's really good! What's in it?" asked Maggie.

"Mango, banana, and a few other fruits that I have forgotten the name of and you don't see in supermarkets," said Milo.

"Well it's very good, but you have thought about going back to the old life?" asked Maggie as she followed Milo out to the platform where he indicated for her to sit down.

"I've thought about it a few times," Milo admitted.

"And why won't you?" asked Maggie.

Milo sighed for a moment, he knew Maggie would want to talk about this sooner or later, and he knew there was no way of getting out of it. Still he regretted it; he was a grown man who would most likely cry in front of a twelve year old.

"……Because Alex isn't there with me," he finally replied.

"But you had your whole life ahead of you, you could have continued without her, you saw how many people were fans of you too, always answering their questions and having fun with those explorations to new places to find animals and plants. I would have loved to have seen something with you, even if it was without Alex," said Maggie.

"I know Maggie, but you all never knew me personally, you would only see me on screen looking happy but I know I would have been miserable……and alone," said Milo.

"But you're alone now," Maggie exclaimed.

"Yeah but in a place where running into someone is rare, I just never cared for people, because they never cared for me," said Milo.

"But didn't you have a foster family?" asked Maggie.

"…I had several, they never lasted more than a year. That's what happens in a foster family, you stay around long enough to finally get used to the place, before you get taken away again. It's hard wanting to be close to the family if you know you will never see them again," said Milo.

"How about your real family, is anyone alive to stay close to you and help you?" asked Maggie.

"Last I heard my father was alive, but in jail, where he ought to be," said Milo with such anger in his voice that Maggie had to back away a little bit. Milo looked back at Maggie and noticed this, he hated when his feelings went over the top and he knew it was best to assure Maggie that he would not harm her in any way.

"Sorry Maggie, it's just that……when I think about him I know it was his fault for changing my childhood like that. You see, I didn't know him until I was eleven, he left my mother when he found out she was pregnant with me. I lived in the bad part of Seattle, drug deals, drive by shootings, kidnapping, the whole nine yards. In fact I think living through that is what made me tough enough to survive out here. I wanted to find him though, I had met my young sister's father who sort of cared about her, but only when he was sober, but it still made me feel that I needed one. I found him but he wouldn't talk to me or acknowledge me, he called me a few names I would not dare repeat to you. I knew then that there was no hope in getting to know him; I just knew he was a bastard who knocked up my mom before running away. I didn't see him again until I was thirteen, in a police car. He had met up with my mom again, apparently to get some drugs from her. But……the deal went bad, both my mother and my sister were killed. I was lucky, I had been out playing basketball with friends when we heard the sirens and decided to investigate. A few days later I found myself in a foster care center where I would be put up for foster care until I was eighteen."

Maggie only stared back at Milo, the entertainment websites never gave out the details of what Milo's life had been like. She only knew he was in foster care, she had thought his parents were good parents and that they had died in a car accident or something like it. Not that they were drug dealers who didn't love him. They made her father sound downright decent and that she was lucky to have him. At least he wanted to help her and be the father he should be, and now she wished more than ever that he was by her side, helping her get back home.

"I'm so sorry Milo, I never knew," said Maggie.

"It's alright Maggie, I think you, Alex, and Cuzkaal have been the only ones," said Milo.

"And how did you find Cuzkaal, did he tell you not to kill yourself?" asked Maggie.

Milo gave a small chuckle; Maggie sure was a curious one. But, it was better than spending another night in the tree house alone. He remembered when he was young and how curious he could be so it was best to accept it and tell her as much as he needed to.

"Actually I did not run into Cuzkaal right away, instead I remembered seeing a waterfall not far from where I had let go of Alex. It was a nice big one where I knew I could leap off and all my problems would be over. It didn't take me long to find it and I brought myself over to a nearby ledge and stood there for many moments, watching the water fall into the jagged rocks below and flow back to where I was moments ago. But as I stood there sizing up how I should jump I began to think to myself: what if I made it but was badly injured, how long would I be in pain, how long would I suffer after doing something that many have said is so selfish.

"I was of course in pain at the moment, both physically and mentally, the cut on the back of my leg from falling between the planks was no longer a numb feeling but was now throbbing. I was also feeling terrible for letting Alex go, but knowing I could survive with a worse pain than I was feeling right then and there was not something I wanted to deal with. Instead, I sat there as the water flowed down the falls and the rain fell around me and I just meditated, I thought about what to do, where to go, how to make it through all this without Alex. By the time I was done, it was morning, the rain had stopped, and standing behind me was a strange man.

"At first I thought it was one of the producers, they had found me after we did not return that night. But when I turned around, I realized that this person was no producer, I could already tell by the lack of clothing save for the loincloth. He told me he had been looking for me and that he was willing to help mend my leg. Why he was looking for me he would not say, he only brought me to his lonely camp where he cleaned my wound and fed me. I still sport a limp for some reason but it's nice to have someone to talk to every now and again even though he is very reclusive at times. But that's the life of a lost survivor, I guess it's better than being alone all the time."

Maggie sat there, still sipping the concoction that Milo had created and thinking about what he had said. So he did regret thinking about ending his life and that he had found a friend when one was needed for him. So it did work out okay for him, she just wished she knew that he had been alive this whole time. But it was all a part of life; people disappear from time to time and its all the more sweeter to find years later that they are alive and doing well for themselves.

"Well I hate to cut this nice evening short but we need to get back, Cuzkaal told me earlier he has some meditation to do in his secret location and I don't want to leave Celia alone," said Milo.

"Secret location?" asked Maggie as Milo motioned her to get on the swing.

"Yeah, he says it's only for shaman eyes, he goes there to consult the gods and things, I have seen him return looking very exhausted. One time he slept for two solid days," said Milo while he lowered Maggie down to the ground.

Maggie got off and waited for Milo to come down, as she did so she began to wonder if Cuzkaal had the power to know if someone they loved was alive.

"Do you think I could ask Cuzkaal if he can find out if our dads are still alive?" asked Maggie once Milo was back on solid ground.

"Hmm, maybe," said Milo as he lead the way back.

Apparently, Milo had left at a good time, because before they reached camp, they found Cuzkaal going in the opposite direction. Maggie could see that he put a new coat of red paint around his eyes making him look more evil and cunning than he already was.

Both parties stopped in front of each other, Cuzkaal stared back with his menacing looking glare that had scared Maggie ever since they had met. This of course made her nervous and she did not want to ask, Milo on the other hand knew he had to encourage her.

"Go ahead Maggie, he won't bite," said Milo.

Maggie only stared back while Cuzkaal looked at Milo annoyed, he had better things to do and he was in no mood to waste his time with a child.

"This better be important," he finally said.

Maggie stared for a moment, of course he would not bite but then again there was that idea of a spell being cast on her and she did not want that. How in the world did Milo not feel threatened by him?

"Uh……Mr. Cuzkaal, sir? Can…you um…try and see if uh……our dads are still……um…alive?" Maggie asked with great nervousness in her voice while still trying to give him a friendly smile.

Cuzkaal looked down at Maggie, there was no expression in his eyes, it was almost like he was staring into her soul. Maggie could only look up at Milo hoping that he would do something about it but he only stared back at her with reassuring eyes, eyes that told her to trust the strange half naked shaman.

"I'll see what I can do…" he finally replied.

Before Maggie could even say thank you, Cuzkaal moved forward, giving both Milo and Maggie a wide berth. Both watched him disappear into the deep dark jungle, his strides long and silent. They knew better than to follow him, for a curse might be put upon them if they did. They could only wonder where it was, what secrets it held, and what kind of gods talked to the shaman who had no tribe. But why did he have no tribe? What was his past like before Milo? These questions could only be thought up and be left to ponder, for only the lonely shaman knew, and shaman rarely share their secrets.

* * *

A/N: Oooh stuff for you to ponder until the next chapter. Yeah sorry this chapter took longer than I had wanted to, last week was finals, I had two papers to write in three days, I got exhausted and was unable to even write anything else until yesterday. Yeah it's not fun when you are drained from writing things, you get anxious when you finally get well rested and want to write again. But now you know Milo's past, it was originally grittier, but I decided not to go that route and had it done in the way you see here. So I hope you all thought it was okay. The next chapter will give you answers to the last paragraph; it will be all about Cuzkaal and his past and why he lives alone. I will warn you in advance that it will be dark.

Other than that I hope everyone is doing well, summer is here so let's all enjoy the nice sunshine. Please review when you can and have a nice week.


	19. The Cave

Small droplets of rain dotted the ground as Cuzkaal silently made his way through the jungle. Low rumblings of thunder could be heard, signaling that a downpour would be imminent, but Cuzkaal did not care, he would be in his secret cave most of the night so there was no need to worry about a little rain. He came to this spot every month, a place that he looked forward to once the days became closer, it was the only place where he could share his secrets and not feel guilty about it. Of course he never told Milo about his past, he didn't want to, he was friends with Milo and had what he needed from him, that was all that mattered.

It wasn't long before he reached the cave, tucked deep near an eroded ditch that rarely filled up with water. Cuzkaal believed it was because there was a fork in the ditch and the water went the other way, but he never thought more about it, geology was never that important to him. He looked around for a moment to make sure no one had followed him. Once he felt he was safe he disappeared into the dark unknown.

At first when entering the cave it seemed like an ordinary cave, dark, damp, and eerily quiet save for the sounds of dripping water. Cuzkaal lit a small torch that he kept near the entrance and slowly made his way deeper into the cave. He passed small pools of water, stalagmites and stalactites, creepy crawlies that needed no sight to survive in the dark underground, and bats. There was a small colony on the ceiling watching him, but they were used to his presence so they were not concerned.

Finally he reached the far end of the cave where a crystal clear pool sat in front of a wall with pictures of the tribes of old, and creatures found in the Amazon. Cuzkaal stared at the images especially at the one of a jaguar; it seemed to stare back at him as if searching for his inner thoughts. Did these two have a connection somehow?

Finally after five minutes of staring at the many images on the wall, Cuzkaal bent down and began rummaging through a small sack that contained all he needed for what he was about to do this evening. First he pulled out a small claw and held it in the palm of his hand for a brief moment.

"Jagul, the moon is waxing crescent tonight, but only briefly, a storm is approaching," he said in a whisper.

Cuzkaal silenced himself for a moment listening for any sounds coming from the cave. It took a few moments but finally a low growling emanated in the room and Cuzkaal let out a rare smile.

"Then my thoughts are correct, we must discuss this tonight!" he said never letting his voice go any higher than it had been.

The growl came back again and the pool began to bubble slightly as the cave began to shake slightly. Cuzkaal knew what this meant, Jagul was getting anxious.

"Not to worry Jagul, I have everything you need for your presence. A claw of the bush dog," Cuzkaal began as he threw the small claw he had been holding into the pool.

Cuzkaal then rummaged through is sack once again before pulling out his next ingredient. "Five of the purest green feathers of the hoatzin." The feathers slowly drifted down to the pool, creating ripples in the clear, blue water. Once the final feather fell, the pool bubbled and shook the cave again.

Cuzkaal did not back away from the sudden movements; he only rummaged through the sack once again "The scales of the Fer-de-lance." Cuzkaal threw the shiny scales of one of the most venomous snakes in the Amazon and watched as they fluttered slowly into the pool like the feathers had done. The pool did not bubble as dramatically but he only had two more ingredients to go.

"The tongue of the tapir." He carefully set the tongue into the water and this time the water bubbled almost like it was set on top of a stove as the bubbles grew bigger and began to create steam around Cuzkaal. Cuzkaal watched the water for a moment waiting for the right time to put in the next ingredient.

Finally at the right moment, Cuzkaal produced a knife from his waist belt and set the knife between his thumb and forefinger where the small flap of skin lay. "The blood of the shaman," he said quietly while slicing down without much of a flinch. He had done this many times before, and he was used to the feeling, the wound would heal very quickly. Carefully he let the blood flow down his hand and into the cup of his palm before letting it drip slowly into the water.

Seconds later the water steamed up and a cloud of mist covered the walls as Cuzkaal waited for Jagul to appear. He tried searching for the jaguar through the mist and it wasn't long before he saw two eyes staring back at him, but they were not the gray eyes he saw when he first walked in, they were now piercing yellow eyes that glowed in the deep, dark cave. But as soon as they appeared, they were gone in a flash and silence soon enveloped the cave as the water stopped bubbling.

"I am at your presence Cuzkaal," a female voice echoed through the cave.

"It's good to hear from you Jagul," Cuzkaal said, never taking his eyes off the wall.

"And I am correct that there are strangers in your camp?" asked Jagul.

"Yes Jagul, two children, they have lost their fathers," said Cuzkaal.

"Ah, this is what I have been waiting for," said Jagul as she stepped out of the shadows.

To anyone who had never met or heard Jagul, they would have believed that she was an ordinary jaguar, but would also be very surprised to see that she was female. She was powerfully built and larger than most female jaguars, but that was because she was a spirit and one who could disappear and reappear in an instant. Cuzkaal had been close to her for many years now and was the main reason for his disappearances once a month.

"Does this mean the time is right? Will I finally return to my former glory?" Cuzkaal asked.

"Perhaps, you have been waiting long haven't you," Jagul said in a matter of fact voice.

"Eight years is long enough," said Cuzkaal.

"It is yes, but it's always better to prepare and find the right person for the job," said Jagul as she made her way toward Cuzkaal and rubbed against him like many cats did.

"True, and you did say it would happen in less than ten," said Cuzkaal who shivered as Jagul rubbed up against him.

"Good things come to those who wait," Jagul purred.

"I know, I thought it would come three years ago with the addition of Milo, I am still surprised he is not the one," said Cuzkaal.

"Ah but his blood is," said Jagul.

Cuzkaal looked over at the small jar he had placed on a rock ledge; he had hidden it there three years ago. It contained Milo's blood from when he had tried to heal his injured leg and was a very important ingredient for Cuzkaal's plan.

"I am amazed though that you are still wanting to go through with this, eight years has been a long time, how sure are you that they would want you back?" asked Jagul, she liked testing Cuzkaal just to see how he would take it.

"Chief Zaama is dead, and Shawlakhaanoytl is a weak shaman, using wisdom instead of following the gods advice, they need their former shaman back. Didn't I help save them from the one tribe who tried to destroy them thanks to me visiting this cave and then seeing them make camp before they would strike the next day? Didn't I help them in the flood that surely would have killed more members of the tribe than there should have been? Didn't I…"

"Enough Cuzkaal, I see what you mean, but how do you plan on destroying Shawlakhaanoytl with just yourself and Bahzuul once he returns, you know the tribe is loyal to him now. He is their leader until little Hatchatka becomes of age, they trust him," said Jagul.

"Well I was hoping you would help for one," said Cuzkaal.

Jagul stared back at Cuzkaal, she had helped Cuzkaal once, it was the reason for his banishment from the tribe, apparently he did not learn the lesson of asking for the jaguar god for help. Of course after what he had done, he was now banned from speaking to all other Amazonian gods but her. She was the only one he could confide in when he needed advice. She had ways of fixing things but usually kept that to herself, Cuzkaal would have to be patient and find out in time. Cuzkaal needed to think about the consequences and how the tribe would even react to him returning.

"You want bloodshed again? Then truly you will never get to be the tribes faithful shaman, the tribe love their children," said Jagul as she tested him.

"I know! But I don't want you to possess me like you had done that day; you don't know how worrisome it is being around the two girls I am with now. I don't know if I will suddenly attack them like those other six. Four more and I would have gotten the right amount to bring Bahzuul back, but it was cruel and wrong, I still have nightmares about what I did. I know still talking to you is not something many would do, but you promised that if someone is brought down by a jaguar, you would have the power to bring them back," exclaimed Cuzkaal.

"It is true, but I warned you the way you wanted to bring him back was dangerous and deadly," said Jagul.

"But you did not say that it would involve me destroying half the children of the village just so an apprentice could return to me, you said it would be easy, you did not say you would enter my body and do such horrible things!" Cuzkaal cried out loud enough that the whole cave shook.

Jagul only sat there; she was used to Cuzkaal's anger when this topic was brought up. And since she was the one who turned Cuzkaal's life around, it was done quite often. But she learned to accept it, he still somehow trusted her and she did have a second option in helping him, she had warned him it would take longer and he was up for it. Though some days his patience did wear thin and these kind of arguments erupted. Though Jagul was mainly calm and focused, letting Cuzkaal let out all his steam answering any questions Cuzkaal would ask, usually the same questions. but she would humor him with them. It was true that she was conniving, but of course she was a jaguar, a stealthy hunter who used wits to capture its prey and bring them down with her strength and powerful teeth that could penetrate the skull in seconds.

"Remember Cuzkaal, I am the jaguar god, strong and cunning, you have to be careful when following me," said Jagul.

"I know, I know, so far though you have kept me from injuring anyone important, I would still like to know how you plan on bringing Bahzuul back," said Cuzkaal.

"In due time Cuzkaal, for now though I do have an idea of the next ingredient to bring him back," said Jagul.

Even though Cuzkaal's face was covered in red makeup, Jagul could still see his face light up with anticipation, a rarely seen emotion that always satisfied Jagul when it did happen. The time was finally right for things to change and Jagul knew that Cuzkaal had spent enough time waiting to bring back what he had wanted all those years ago.

"How easy is it to obtain?" asked Cuzkaal.

"This one is simple just like Milo's was, I want you to bring me a lock of hair from the one who is not injured," said Jagul.

"Maggie? But that could be hard, wouldn't she be suspicious about what I have taken from her, after all she has been distrusting of me since she got here, probably because she can sense all the wrongs I've done," said Cuzkaal.

"Not if you do it properly and under the cover of night, besides you also have that sleeping smoke," said Jagul.

"Hmmmm, I do yes, what would be the third ingredient?" asked Cuzkaal.

"That I do not know, I have an idea but I must investigate it, I will find out hopefully by morning. I also know how I will get Bahzuul back to you. Return to me tomorrow night and in days, everything will be back to the way it was," said Jagul.

Cuzkaal said nothing, he wanted to get this over with now, he wanted to get the lock of hair quickly without anyone knowing. Time was of the essence, he had to get back to the camp quickly so he could grab the sleeping smoke to make sure the children stayed asleep when he did it. He exited the cave without a second glance and ran back as fast as he could. Jagul watched him go for a moment, her tail twitching back and forth as if she was thinking deeply about the whole thing. Finally she got up and began to run as well, she was on a mission.

Cuzkaal reached the camp fifteen minutes later, exhausted from running but still willing to do what must be done. Quietly he entered his hut and grabbed the special sleeping smoke he hid under his bed and a small knife he kept in case a strange animal tried to attack at night. Then he made his way to the hut Milo slept in, all three were sound asleep, most likely dreaming of better things. Cuzkaal let out a rare and sly smile, he knew that he did not need to add any sleeping smoke to Milo or Celia, as long as he was quiet, and he was very good at that. To make sure that Maggie did not wake though, he sprinkled some of the sleeping smoke in front of her and then grabbed a piece of hair. It was short work and a few seconds later, Cuzkaal had a clump of hair in the palm of his hand.

He stared at it for a moment, surprised that something like this would be needed for something he had been waiting so long for. But it was what Jagul wanted and that was what she was going to get. Cuzkaal was about to stand up when he heard Celia shuffle next to Maggie. Cuzkaal watched her nervously, not moving an inch, daring not to breathe too loudly as he hoped that the girl would not wake up and see him. He was in a dark place and seeing a strange object in the room would scare the pants off anyone, even Milo. But it was only a false alarm, Celia was just moving in her sleep and she was not waking up anytime soon. Cuzkaal sighed with relief and made his way out of the hut and back to his own. There was no evidence he had been to Milo's hut, he had made quick work in there in less than three minutes. He now had what he wanted and that was all that mattered to him.

Cuzkaal sat on his cot for a moment thinking about what was next for him; he could not wait to find out what the third ingredient would be, would it be as easy as the first two? He would have to find out tomorrow, for now though he had to sleep while Jagul scoured for the next ingredient.

Jagul was now on the other side of the river, still running as fast as her legs could carry her through the jungle. She did not need to worry about vines, bushes or trees, she was a spirit god and she could move through the place with great ease. She knew where she was going; she just had to look for what she needed, to find out if the next ingredient she was thinking of was the correct one. She soon reached the place she needed to be, the entire tribe sound asleep. She had not been to this place in months now and she loved terrorizing the current shaman. Stealthily she made her way toward the hut and then leapt inside.

Seconds later, Shawlakhaanoytl woke with a start!

* * *

A/N: Okay this chapter took longer than I had planned, originally I had almost twenty-two pages going before I finally said, I really don't like this, since it was actually Cuzkaal watching his past unfold right before his eyes which included Bahzuul getting killed and him getting kicked out of the tribe after Jagul possesses him. It could have been a whole different story if I wanted it to be, and because of that the story was getting long and I was getting impatient and the descriptions felt lazy and weak. Finally I deleted all but six pages and started again. I like this so much better! Now there is another character to deal with, Jagul, now what do you all think of her? She will be very interesting in these last chapters let me tell you.

Other than that, I hope you all enjoyed it and please review when you can. The next chapter might take a bit longer to be put up. I am actually going to renovate chapter one of Love Thy Neighbor and when I am done with that I will return with chapter 20. I hope the renovations get done really quickly, don't want to leave you hanging for too long, you probably have some questions that want to be answered. But for now I hope you all have a nice week and see you all very soon.


	20. The Search Party

The morning sun was just sliver over the horizon as Lisa sat on the only dock the nearest village to where Homer, Maggie, Riley and Celia were last seen. Softly she played tunes on her sax hoping that maybe, just maybe the sound would travel into the jungle and her father and sister would hear it.

They had reached the village last night around dinner time. Marge had been running around frantic the entire time, yelling out orders and telling everyone how incompetent they were for not forming a search party sooner. Lisa knew her mother was scared, her husband and youngest daughter were out there somewhere and today was the beginning of the forth day where they saw no sign of them. The fact that no one had bothered to search yet was frustrating, but somehow she sensed that both of them were out there together, taking care of each other or surviving the best they could.

Lisa had tried to sleep that night but her mind kept brimming, even though she did have good thoughts about her father and sister, she still worried for them deeply. The storm overnight was a strong one, whipping the trees around and lightening striking in almost every corner it could touch. As she lay there watching the lightening illuminate from the window, she began to wonder if her father would comfort Maggie if she was scared, or even if Maggie would comfort him. She knew how brave Maggie was; maybe she was even leading the way in finding their way back.

After tossing and turning for many hours, Lisa finally had enough and got up out of her cot and made her way down to the dock. It was still dark out when she reached it, but the stars helped guide her way and it wasn't long before she sat Indian style on the edge and began to play all her best tunes with her sax. Soon the light where the sun was coming up appeared and soon the Amazon River turned a golden yellow to match the color of the sky. It was truly breathtaking and Lisa tried her best to match what was going on with her music.

By the time the sun was halfway up, she began to get two spectators who stood behind her and listened quietly while they watched the sky become brighter. It was Bart and Paige and both had come to talk to her and help her find the missing four. Lisa did not stop playing until her song was over and once it was, she turned to them with a half hearted smile.

"Sorry if I woke you, I just wanted to try and see if Maggie or Dad would hear it and come looking to see who was playing," said Lisa sheepishly.

"It's alright Lis, we haven't slept well either, we've just been listening and finally decided to come out and join you," said Bart who gave his sister a warm hug. He had been so busy last night trying to calm his mom down that he barely had time to greet Lisa after a long time of not seeing her.

Lisa hugged him back before letting out a heavy sigh and looking out at the river, it was quiet that morning, not a sound to be heard save for a few birds who were arguing over a fish one had recently caught. There was a crocodile sunning itself nearby but it did not seem to mind Lisa's disturbance, it had been there for about an hour now and was just now starting to make its way back into the water.

"Do you think Dad will know what to do out there?" asked Lisa worriedly.

"After the rafting trip he went on with me I don't really think so, but Maggie is there and so is Mr. Post and Celia, they should put him in order," said Bart in the best reassuring voice.

"I bet my Dad would keep everyone in order too, I don't think he would want me to be left behind all alone out here," said Paige with a bit of worry in her voice that both Bart and Lisa could hear.

"It's still worrisome though huh?" asked Bart.

Paige only nodded while she tried her hardest not to cry. Lisa saw this and jumped up to comfort her while also giving Bart an angry glare for saying anything. Lisa let Paige cry on her shoulder for a moment until she calmed down a little.

"Don't be worried Paige, you have us and if anything happens, God forbid, you can stay with us for as long as you want," said Lisa with a concerned smile. Paige looked back at her and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Thanks, I've already lost one parent I don't want it to happen again or lose a sister, even though she is five years younger than me, we are still very close. Like when Mom died, I helped her all I could when she cried or needed someone to talk to. My Dad was there too but he was too much of a wreak, it was very hard for him," said Paige as she let out a sniffle.

"It would be hard for anyone," said Bart trying his hardest not to imagine if his mother died or even his father. He could not even remember the last thing he said to Homer was. They were talking about the trip, but Bart was in no mood to talk to his father since they were not on the best speaking terms. Now he just wanted to talk to him to see if maybe they would get along once again after the last big argument they had when he had opened up the comic book store.

Lisa went back to playing her sax; she was going to try a few more songs before giving up and hopefully start a search party after breakfast. The three sat there on the dock, watching the river flow by and looking for any signs of anyone in the trees or even a raft sailing down the river. Once a canoe sailed by, but it was only from local natives going in the other direction. They waved a friendly greeting at Lisa who waved back while she continued to play. Bart and Paige of course waved as well and Bart even tried to ask that if they saw any lost explorers to bring them back where they were as soon as possible.

"Hey wait a minute! What's that over there?" Paige exclaimed as she pointed far out at the river.

Lisa stopped what she was doing and looked to see where Paige was pointing at. Bart of course was trying to figure it out as well. It looked like something was coming their way; it looked like it might be someone on a raft. All three held their breath as they waited for it to come closer until they could finally see it clearly. They soon learned that it wasn't the missing four and it wasn't a raft, but it was someone in a motor boat that was heading their way.

As he got closer, they could hear him singing some kind of ballad and by the sound of his voice they could tell that he was not a native Brazilian but a native of some other land. Bart stood on the end of the dock, ready to wave the man down; perhaps this guy could help in the search. But Bart did not need to wave him down; instead the man brought his boat toward them still singing his song with a smile on his face.

"So you're the Sheila who has been playing jazz on the Amazon River. By crikey it sounded beautiful! Of course when I first heard it I began to wonder if some strange siren was singing it to get my attention and lure me into its underwater realm since we usually only hear ocarinas and flutes out here. Good thing you're not a siren I would have probably fell for it," said the man who now everyone could tell was Australian, there was no mistaking that accent.

He wasn't a very young man, probably in his early thirties with a goatee and short blonde hair that was hidden under his Australian cowboy hat. Bart could tell instantly that both Lisa and Paige were struck down by his good looks even for a thirty year old, they were smiling the same way girls their age smiled when they meet a cute boy.

"Oh I was only playing this to see if my father or sister could hear it," said Lisa still acting a bit shy though.

"Mine too," said Paige quickly.

"Oh really? Where did they run off to?" asked the man as he made his way onto the dock and tied his boat to it.

"They went down the wrong tributary and we haven't seen them since, so of course we are very worried," said Bart.

"Oh that does not sound good at all, I've heard stories of men getting lost out here and never heard from again. Most recent I remember was a young native who wanted to catch the biggest catfish. This was back in February; I think they are still searching even though they think he was eaten by the biggest catfish. And let's not forget Alexander Steele and Milo Sanchez," said the man.

"That's one of the reasons why my sister came out here, she thought it would be fun to be in the last place her idol was seen," said Bart.

"And have they formed a search party to find them?" asked the man.

"No they wanted my mom out here to help, she is now very mad at them, they might be going by airplane later to look," said Lisa.

"Airplane! Bah! Airplanes only look what's directly below, what you really need is a good guide who knows these rivers like the back of his hand," said the man.

Bart, Lisa and Paige stared at each other for a moment; all three could tell that this Aussie was hinting at something, like he was willing to help them if he could. That was fine with them though, he seemed to have quicker response about rescues than with the rest of the group, traveling the Amazon in his boat did sound better and it would be easier to find them if they were hurt or stuck in the jagged rocks.

"Do you know these waters?" asked Bart.

"Known these waters since I was seventeen mate, came out here after I decided that my parents were just a bunch of drongo's who wanted me to do what they thought was right for me. Something in the medical field if I remember correctly, and of course I am not into those kinds of things, I wanted to live on a river and the Amazon called to me, so I came out here and been living out here ever since," said the man.

"So you can help us?" asked Lisa.

"Of course I can little Sheila, and since I need to help you I need to introduce myself, the names Turnbull, Brock Turnbull though around here, a lot of the natives call me Bull, I guess it's easier to say than Brock, they never really explained why, I don't charge anyone unless they are actually touring the area," said Brock with a grin.

"I'm Bart, this is my sister Lisa and that's Paige. My dad is Homer and my sister is Maggie. Paige's father is Riley and her sister is Celia," said Bart.

"Celia huh? Had a girlfriend named that once, cheated on me and then stole my daks saying they looked better on the other guy. I hope she doesn't do that kind of thing," said Brock.

"She's only twelve," said Paige as she rolled her eyes. He was cute but he seemed a bit off at times.

"Oh dear, then we have some young nipper's out there, we better get on with this. Do you know of the tributary they went down?" asked Brock.

"I know the camp leaders do," said Bart.

"Well then show them to me, and as a rule of thumb, I am very strict about people in my search party. Bart, you should come and help me. Paige, Lisa, you two stay behind, it's better to have someone strong and stout help me and the less people, the better," said Brock.

"Is anyone else helping us?" asked Bart.

"I'm gonna try and get one of the camp leaders, now show me who they are," said Brock as he made his way down the dock and toward the small village.

The other three followed, surprised by how willing he was to help in this situation. It must be a lonely life living on the river with only the fish and the crocodiles to keep you company. Apparently he wanted to do something and this was what he was getting.

They reached the main building of the village and inside sat Jeremy, Luis, Marge and another man named Adam sitting down waiting for their breakfast to finish so they could hurry up and eat and be on their way. It was Luis who saw Brock first and as soon as he saw him, he jumped up and tried to push him out the door.

"Luis! Haven't seen you since last December… why in the world are you trying to push me out?" asked Brock.

"Because you could get into a lot of trouble being here Bull, you're lucky the chief is visiting another village at the time, you don't want to meet the sharp end of his spear," said Luis.

"What do you mean?" asked Brock with a raised eyebrow.

"Remember that incident on the Japura six years ago when you tried to get rid of a crocodile and ended up throwing the chief's good luck charm into its mouth?" asked Luis.

Brock rubbed his goatee in thought for a moment trying to remember all the incidents that had gone through with him over the years. Lots of things did and it took him several seconds to finally remember the incident.

"Oh yeah, the boat got stuck in a sandbar and that big croc was going to eat us all if I did not do something," said Brock.

"But did you really have to throw the good luck charm at it, a spear would have done nicely," said Luis.

"Hey I was about to soil myself and I could not find anything else, it did work I guess it was a very nice good luck charm and he could have gotten it back if he waited a little while," said Brock.

Luis rubbed his head for a moment; Brock could really be immature about things. "Still what you did is punishable, he still has not found it and when he gets the chance he says you will pay so I would leave now if I were you." He continued as he tried to push Brock out the door.

"But these kids here told me they were missing their fathers and sisters, I want to help, you know how I can track to help you guys," said Brock as he pinned himself against the door.

"Yeah you said that five years ago when we had to find those peccary's, I still have the scar on my ass from running into an angry family of capybara," said Luis.

"Hey I remembered seeing them there and that's just ancient history," said Brock.

"Ancient history huh? Then why do I still get a sharp pain when I sit at an odd angle?" exclaimed Luis in a very loud voice, if no one was watching him already, they would now.

Brock looked back at Luis, he could tell he already struck a nerve on Luis and was now in more trouble than he should have been. Of course he wasn't expecting Luis here but he still wanted to make up for the wrongs he had done.

"Listen I'm sorry and I can make it up to you by helping to find Homer, Maggie, Celia, and Randy," he said.

"Riley!" Paige said.

"Sorry, nervousness. I got a boat and everything, you can come with me and Bart and find them since you know where the tributary is," said Brock.

Luis stared at Brock for a moment. He never liked Brock, from the moment he first showed up on the river, he never trusted him and the only reason he had nicknamed him Bull was because he was known for coming up with stories that were mostly bullcrap. Not the other reason that Brock was led to believe. Of course he did have a boat, not the best boat in the world but one that would at least bring them to the tributary and do a search, they were going to use boats but the search party for that got sidetracked in Santarem for another three days. A boat was better than a helicopter which was on its way. So it was better than nothing.

"Who cares if he had done badly in the past, I just want my Homie and Maggie back and if he can do it I want it done," said Marge who was now standing next to Luis.

"I'm better than nothing," Brock said with a grin.

Luis glared at him, Marge had yelled at him all night last night and now he knew that if he turned Brock away he would probably be in more crap than he was in now. There was no way he could say no.

"Alright, you are going to help us, I am not going with you though because I know I will strangle you the first chance I get, instead Jeremy is going with you," said Luis.

"Why me?" asked Jeremy.

"Because you were the one who lost them in the first place since you all decided to keep going that day," said Luis.

"But we had a schedule to keep," said Jeremy.

"Who cares if we were a day behind, we could have found other things to do, now go get packing," said Luis.

Jeremy said nothing, he was already on Luis' bad side and now he was even grumpier that Brock was here. Bart, Lisa and Paige had been listening to the conversation the entire time and now all three were getting a bit nervous.

"Bart, will you be okay?" asked Lisa.

"Yeah, I'll keep them in line if things get tough, I know I can help them and I am not coming back until I find Dad, Maggie, Celia and Riley. Dead or alive!" Bart exclaimed and then looked at Marge who stared back at him worriedly. It must have been the fact that he was willing to bring them back even if they were dead. Not the best reassuring thoughts.

"Okay mostly alive," he said.

* * *

A/N: Holy crap it's finally done! I want to thank the following people: Bdlywrttn, CalculatedChaos, UndeadSamurai, Javagirl1992, Bruelock, lachcal, and gypsy rosalie, you guys were very helpful no matter how emo I got. You guys are the best and thanks for giving me ideas in those private messages, they were very helpful. For those who have no idea since I can't contact you because some of you don't allow private messaging, you know who you are; I was having a lot of trouble with this chapter. I was very worried that it would be too boring for you all and that there really was no point. I was on the verge of just giving up on this story and deleting it, heck I'm still not satisfied with everything but I have to continue because you all want to know what happens. So I want to say this to everyone, if you notice that there is a long delay, it's because I am stuck once again on what to do. So don't worry I am still around just wracking my brains and trying my hardest to give you something to enjoy. So please review when you can I will update again soon.

Also one more thing, if you like to discuss the Simpsons and would like to know how my fanfiction and Calculatedchaos's and even UndeadSamurai's is going please join this site. http: / /generationyellow . proboards . com . Just put everything together and you will find it. It's a new site so we need new members, we would all love to hear from you. Don't worry, we don't bite, hard.


	21. What Homer and Riley Discovered

"What in the world happened that could take him this long to show himself?" Riley said as he paced back and forth in front of Shaw's tent. Homer was sitting with Alex and Hatchatka nearby equally curious and anxious.

It was now midday and they had not slept since at least one o'clock earlier that morning. Shaw had woken up suddenly with fear in his eyes. He told both Riley and Homer to leave the hut and stay with Alex until he came back out. He would not explain anything but the look in his eyes told them that something was terribly wrong. Was it just something that only the shaman had to deal with? Or did it involve the girls in some way? Riley showed the most concern about this and would not sleep, keeping Homer up the rest of the night and waiting for Shaw to show signs of revealing himself again.

Homer let out a yawn, he wanted to sleep but now that it was the daylight hours he knew that sooner or later, Shaw would return and the searching would begin. Sure he was concerned as well, but it took him a while to be so after Shaw nearly gave him a heart attack when he woke him up in the middle of the night. Concerned by what Shaw had done, Riley had run into Alex's tent and awakened her with what had happened. She only dismissed it saying it was normal for that to happen on occasion and went right back to sleep.

Riley knew it was better not to try and wake up a lady more times than once and knew Homer was a better option. Of course Homer nodded off a few times before getting yelled at by Riley. Now he was just sitting up against the hut, Hatchatka playing with a bow and some blunt arrows next to him. The arrows weren't too blunt though, Homer discovered that soon enough every time he nodded off and the young boy would give him a nice solid poke. This time though, he was alerted by Riley's concerned voice again.

"Is this normal for him to take this long?" asked Riley.

"Sometimes, once he spent two days in there, just be patient though, he could find important information," said Alex.

"How can I be patient if the meditation he is doing is about the kids!" exclaimed Riley with a heavy worry in his voice.

"It could be good news," said Homer.

"But would it take this long?" asked Riley.

Homer only shrugged before jumping up in surprise after Hatchatka poked him in the palm of his hand with the arrow. Homer turned to him annoyed while he rubbed his sore palm, Hatchatka giggled before running off to join a friend who had found a new toy to play with. Homer watched them play for a moment, it made him think more about Maggie and if she was alright. It made him realize that Riley had a good reason to fret; they should have gone out hours ago to look for them. Shaw did need to hurry up, the sooner they found the girls, the sooner they could make their way back to civilization. Marge had to have known they were missing by now

Their wait was soon over though when Riley, who was closest to the door, heard rustling coming from inside. Riley stood near the door with anticipation while Homer continued to sit there, his butt on the edge of the log waiting. Finally, Shaw made his way out of the hut and stared at them with a concerned look on his face. There were bags under his eyes and anyone could tell that he had a very serious conversation with someone.

"The girls are in danger!" he said before running back into the hut.

Riley's eyes widened, he did not like the sound of that at all and neither did Homer who jumped up from where he was sitting and followed Riley toward the entrance of the hut. They peered in and saw Shaw grab some provisions and medicinal herbs into a sack as quickly as he could.

"What do you mean?" Riley finally asked.

"Yeah, are they stuck somewhere on the river and we haven't seen them yet?" asked Homer.

"No worse than that," said Shaw as he grabbed a handful of herbs and threw them into a smoldering pit that was used for special fires. As soon as the herbs hit, the ashes came back to life and a small fire was now burning again.

"Why are you making a fire, if they are in danger then we need to go now," said Riley.

"The gods told me they are safe now but soon, very soon that will all change," said Shaw as he threw another set of herbs into the fire which sent up smoke while the flames became bigger.

"Then we should go so they won't be in any more danger," said Homer as he bounced by the door.

"No I need to explain something to you so you will understand what this situation is like, you need to be prepared," said Shaw before throwing one more batch of herbs into the mix while at the same time Alex made her way into the hut looking just as surprised as Homer and Riley were.

"What exactly is going on?" asked Alex.

Shaw grabbed a small stick and began to twirl it in front of the fire and smoke, softly chanting in his native language, the three watched him unsure of what to do with the situation. The girls were in danger, yet he was taking his time by making a fire for some strange reason.

"Listen, can't the talking to the gods wait, I mean you've been doing it for the past twelve hours now they need to relax for a bit and think of other things to smite," said Riley.

Shaw stopped what he was doing and looked at Riley with a serious face, Riley backed away a bit, not wanting to anger the shaman who could cast a spell on him if he wasn't careful. Shaw then rolled his eyes as he set down his stick and motioned for them to sit down.

"Alex, you remember how I told you I was second in line as shaman?" asked Shaw.

"Of course, you told me the original shaman had a falling out after the first in line died so you took over since no one else would," said Alex.

"But I never explained why he fell out and how the first in line died, it's time you learned. And it's time for you two to know what you are dealing with in finding your daughters," said Shaw as he said a very loud chant before the fire lifted and it turned into a dark orange.

For a moment, the three watched Shaw wondering what he would do next, was he going to dance in the fire? Would the fire die out leaving nothing but smoke? Their answer was soon revealed when Riley turned to the fire and began to see shapes moving within.

"Do you guys see what I see?" he asked as he told Homer and Alex to look at the fire.

Homer and Alex turned to the fire and stared wide eyed at the sight of human shapes moving. While most of the fire was a dark orange, the shapes were a lighter orange, almost yellow so they could see the figures move from one place to another. One figure first apeared that did not look at all like Shaw, he was larger and seemed to have an air of command about him even though he was only a sillouette. It had to be Cuzkaal and they all stared at him curiously as he moved through the fire.

"I was one of Cuzkaal's students. In fact, I was first in line and his only student, until one night when Cuzkaal had a dream. The dream declared that Bahzuul a young child in our tribe was to become his successor. But that did not stop Cuzkaal from teaching me, instead though I became second in line. Cuzkaal told me that the gods found me too weak to be the right shaman and that Bahzuul had a sharper view of how things could be followed around here."

The three watched as Cuzkaal moved through the fire, they saw him push Shaw aside while Bahzuul appeared and began following Cuzkaal through the fire. Cuzkaal showed Bahzuul how to summon gods and how to mix the correct herb together to make the perfect concoction to help an injured tribe member. But then the shapes changed showing Cuzkaal in front of a woman in labor, they didn't know how it worked but they could hear the image crying.

"Hatchatka was born eight years ago; it was a long and hard labor for his mother who died shortly after. Cuzkaal felt he could have done something to save her and fell into a deep depression, one where he had a hard time teaching Bahzuul and I how to manage things. Things got worse when Bahzuul and I were sent out to gather plants for more medicine."

The light flickered and showed Bahzuul running for a few moments before falling into the claws of a jaguar. The three watched as the image of Bahzuul slowly flickered in and out before he was no more. They saw Shaw running back to camp to tell Cuzkaal and as soon as his shape appeared, it bent down into a crying position.

"It was too much for Cuzkaal to bear, and for a month I was left to do whatever was needed to be done for a shaman. I helped heal injuries, spoke to gods, and helped the former chief make decisions. Things went well for me and I began to believe that I was now the one who was going to take over from now on. Until Cuzkaal decided to come back to reality. I was his apprentice again and for many times at night, he would leave the camp and disappear for hours on end. Until finally one day three months later, the most horrible thing happened."

The fire changed again and they heard screaming again as Cuzkaal appeared, at first they could not tell what was going on until they realized that Cuzkaal was in a blind rage. They saw children falling by his hands as he attacked them. Family members standing nearby crying for their children as they could do nothing to stop Cuzkaal's rage, some children were lucky as they ran from him while he would only turn around and find the nearest child he could attack. They all wondered what possessed him as Shaw's shape returned into the fire and stood before Cuzkaal who fell to his knees.

"He returned one day, possessed by the one god all shaman try to avoid, Jagul the jaguar goddess. She is a smart and cunning god, only used in your hour of need. Oftentimes shaman will go to her asking to return someone who has been killed by a jaguar, she will return the person but only if you offer her something in return. In this case, she took his soul and possessed him, he killed six children in the village and he would have done more if I had not stepped up and stopped him."

They watched as Cuzkaal was surrounded by the tribe, many of them pointing toward the trees while other held their spears and arrows, ready to kill him when they had the chance. They were all very angry with him. A shaman they had trusted for some many years and had now turned on them by killing their own.

"Our chief kicked him out, I would have sentenced him to death if I was him, but our chief did not believe in those kinds of things and we all believed that he paid dearly for it five years ago when he got a horrible sickness that no one could cure. We were left without a chief and I was the only one who could help the tribe stay the way they were. We know Cuzkaal's presence is out there, Jagul will often scare me in the middle of the night like she did last night just to show that Cuzkaal will strike anytime. Now I believe he found the girls and are with them now, but is waiting for the right moment to strike."

Shaw waved his stick as the fire died down to nothing but embers. The three watched the fire for just a moment before they came out of a trance and stared at Shaw worriedly. Both Riley and Homer had the look of horror on their faces while Alex stood there next to Riley hoping that what they were going through could be solved easily.

"What will he do with them?" asked Alex.

"I know Cuzkaal still wants Bahzuul back and he will do anything to do so. Since the possession did not work, I know Jagul will ask for something simpler but just as barbaric. She could ask for their blood, their hair, their fingers, their arms, and even their hearts, and Cuzkaal would not hesitate to get them. These things can help create a new Bahzuul one who will rise up and help him become a great shaman again," Shaw said.

At what Shaw said, Riley felt sick to his stomach and clung close to Alex who patted him on the shoulder to reassure him. Homer also had a pale look on his face, he was dragged out here by Maggie so he could become a better father, now he had lost her and he had no idea what was happening to her now. He had gotten so close to her and now he might end up losing her and he knew he would carry a burden of how she died for the rest of his life. As he began to think about Cuzkaal and his dark ideas, an anger began to boil inside of him and he looked around the hut to figure out how he could get her back. He soon saw a long spear hanging in the corner; quickly he ran over and pulled it off the wall.

"Help me find this guy and I will stick him good," Homer said with a rage no one had heard him say before. Shaw grabbed the spear out of his hands and quickly put it back on the wall.

"That spear was given to me by a good friend of mine, I only use it for decorations and I don't want it ruined. I know you are scared and angry but I will keep your weapons simple," said Shaw as he handed Homer and Riley each a knife.

Homer stared at it for a moment, it was a large knife and very sharp, the only problem was, you had to get really close to the guy to actually kill him. "But he will see me coming, won't he use a spell before I even get close enough?" asked Homer.

"Not if you are quick, but you must also watch for Jagul, she is swift and cunning and is probably in her jaguar form now. Jagul is a god so you cannot kill her but if you kill Cuzkaal then Jagul will no longer exist around us until she is summoned by another shaman. Also shaman cannot kill other shaman because we are all binded together in spirit. To kill another even if it's to stop them from destroying something goes against all that you have learned and you can be damned into a horrible afterlife. I can help you but that is all I can do," said Shaw.

"Do you know where they are?" asked Alex.

"The gods told me that they are across the river, but they also said that we must head up before the waterfall begins, they did not explain why though, Cuzkaal might be there but I don't feel that he is," said Shaw.

"Then why go that way, we should go straight to where our girls are, we need to save them," said Riley who was now shaking with worry. This was now a huge predicament for him, Celia was alive and he wanted to save her as soon as possible, he did not want her to be killed at such a young age, parents should never outlive their children. He did not want another disaster to befall the family; he would do anything to save her.

"I know you want to get this done quick but the gods said to go that way and I know you all have a different god but I have mine and I must follow their advice. To disobey these gods can lead to serious consequences," said Shaw.

"Then let's get this over with," said Riley as he ran out the door, his knife attached to his belt loop. It took a moment for the rest to get the message that Riley was not waiting any longer and it was Homer who was the first to follow him. Then Shaw grabbed his sack of provisions and with Alex in tow, they were on their way to find their daughters and stop Cuzkaal from whatever evil plot he was going to throw at them.

* * *

The four reached the part of the river above the falls late in the afternoon. Shaw was the first to approach the area as he looked around for any signs that Cuzkaal or the girls had been here. He tested the soil, looked for any broken tree branches and sniffed the air. Once he was done with that, he motioned for Alex, Homer and Riley.

"Find anything?" asked Riley.

"No, no one's been in this area for a while, I think you guys are the only ones who passed here since," said Shaw as he scratched his head thoughtfully.

"Maybe we need to cross and keep going from this way?" asked Riley.

Shaw picked up a pebble next to the shore and studied it for a moment, never saying a word until he threw it into the water watching it skip a few times before it disappeared. "That might be it, though crossing here is a little risky, I see the middle is not very shallow and this bank is not very safe," he said as he kicked some dirt that went crumbling down into the water.

"Then should we cross below the falls?" asked Homer.

"Yeah I'm not one to get stuck in some rapids after that last trip I took, it was three years ago but still, that was a bad experience," said Alex with a bit of a nervous laugh.

"I know Alex, and I want to make sure you all cross this river safely, I thin…" Shaw stopped talking for a moment and put his hand up in front of the other three. He was silent for a good minute before he finally spoke again. "What in the world is that sound?" He said quietly but with surprise.

The other three listened the best they could over the roar of the waves in the river. For a moment they could not hear anything that Shaw was hearing. They wondered if he had heard the girls from afar or if he had heard other tribes near the area making noise. Whatever it was they were all silent for the longest time, hoping to finally hear what Shaw had heard moments ago.

"I guess it's nothing, I think we should start moving again," said Homer as he was about to walk away from the river.

"No wait Homer, I hear it too," said Riley.

Homer made his way back to Riley and stood beside him listening to the sound they were hearing. It wasn't long before Homer heard it too, and at first he turned to Riley with the look of confusion on his face. Riley only smiled back at Homer; he liked what he was hearing. It was a sound they would not expect to hear on this part of a river, a sound that was almost music to their ears; well part of it was anyway. It was the sound of a motor boat and the most clichéd song in the world to be used for anyone on a boat, Sweet Home Alabama playing at the loudest volume just a little ways downstream.

* * *

A/N: Oooh looks like something good is about to happen but can they save the girls in time? You will have to find out in the upcoming chapters, you might actually be a bit surprised. Also again thanks for all the help you guys give me, you're reviews inspire me to keep going, so please review when you can, but don't just say "Great job," tell me what you liked. Heck you can even tell me what you think will happen or what I need to work on. Also I know nothing has really been happening but don't worry, one more chapter of setting up and then there will be some interesting scenes, include a fight. So stay tuned. That's all for now though have a great week and I will update soon.


	22. Reunited and Tricked

Brock Turnbull took a puff from his cigarette as he steered his way through the tributary, avoiding rocks and high waves just enough that he would sort of miss but would cause a huge splash on the deck soaking Bart and Jeremy. Brock did not pay attention to that though, he was too busy enjoying his music and watching out for the rocks, though a bit sloppily. He was glad Luis said he could help find the lost camp members; he had done so before with a lost mother in Manaus and that one was easy. The mother was not far from camp but she had gotten stuck in a drainage ditch after slipping and falling in the rain. She was fine and Brock felt proud that he had saved someone's life after making many other mistakes before that, all too numerous to talk about.

Brock took another puff of his cigarette and looked down at the two who had joined him. Bart was sitting on the very edge of the boat looking back and forth, hoping to see signs of his father or little sister. Poor guy, he did look a bit antsy but who could blame him, his father was already missing for four days and no one had really bothered to go looking, it did sound incompetent like Marge had said. He just wondered what had exactly happened to them and if they would be lucky enough to find them.

Jeremy seemed a bit nervous sitting there in the boat, his eyes darting back and forth and would often jump up to check and see if what he saw might have been the crew. It was usually just a cluster of flowers or an animal running up a tree. Poor guy, he had been given the blame for this and he could tell that Jeremy wanted the four to be alive or his head would probably be served on a silver platter later. Brock hoped the four were alive, you just had to look carefully and he knew that no one was stupid enough to go into the jungle to find civilization, not without proper equipment. He had done it once, to help with an issue regarding poachers and he never wanted to do it again, it was just too frightening out there. Of course he never told anyone that, he just said that it was not his area of expertise and that the Amazon was his spot to be in.

Brock looked down at his CD player and stared at the number of the song that was playing next, number twelve, Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd, one of his favorites. As soon as it started he began to hum the music while at the same time taking puffs of smoke from his cigarette and blowing it in different directions. It was just a fitting song for anyone driving a boat down a river, even a fast moving one.

Bart and Jeremy looked up at Brock while the music played. To them it was a bit odd that an Aussie would be playing an American song while in the Amazon. And found it even odder how he just moseyed through the rapids without worry. To them he was nerve wracking as he missed rocks by a few inches and sent the boat flying in different directions. Truthfully, they were more into the idea of searching from land where it was a bit safer, but of course Brock said that they were more likely to find them somewhere near the bank of the river.

"Sweet Home Alabama eh Bull?" asked Bart his eyebrow raised.

"Well I hope Neil Young…huh…oh yeah you yanks got some great music," said Brock.

"Nothing from Australia though?" asked Bart.

"Nah," said Brock as he steered past another rock sending water flying in different directions on the deck and drenching Bart. "Just because I'm from Australia does not mean I'm into the music."

"Well can you at least be careful driving through here, you never know when you might hit a hidden rock," said Jeremy.

"Oh I've been through here before, there's a waterfall up ahead but I can stop ahead of that no problem," said Brock with a very satisfied voice.

"Waterfall!" Jeremy said worriedly.

"Oh no!" Bart said knowing full well what might have happened only a few days ago on that part of the river. "Can we get to the bottom of the waterfall easily?"

"Yeah I just got to maneuver the boat to the right spot and…wait a minute," said Brock as he steered near the bank. "…is it just me or do you guys hear voices too?" asked Brock.

Bart and Jeremy both sat there for a minute trying to listen between the engine roar and the music which Brock was finally turning down. They didn't hear anything at first until they all heard the faint cry of a small group calling out to them. Bart and Jeremy turned to where the sound was coming from. At first both had to figure out what they were seeing, were their eyes playing tricks on them, or were there really four people standing on the river bank waving back to them, one of them was very familiar looking especially to Bart.

"Oh my God, that's Dad!" Bart cried out.

"And I see Mr. Post!" said Jeremy after he realized what he was seeing too.

"Bull, can you maneuver the boat toward the bank?" asked Bart.

"In a jiffy mate, I just got to find an opening," said Brock as he maneuvered his way toward the bank.

The boat did not have to pull up any further, Homer and the rest made sure of that as they ran toward them arms waving and all of them hooting and hollering. Bart stood on the edge of the deck encouraging Brock to move closer as he tried to maneuver the boat toward the bank. It was not an easy bank to get to, and not one that could easily get the boat onto the land, the bank was rocky with large boulders, making it hard to find a place to set the boat up against and one of the reasons why Homer and Riley could not bring the raft toward it when they originally got caught in the rapids. But since Brock had a motorboat he was able to maneuver it through the rapids easily and soon had the nose of the boat up against a large rock. As soon as it was on the right spot, Bart threw a rope toward the four who were standing above him that way they would have something to hang on to as they made their way down and if they slipped.

Riley grabbed the rope and tied it to a small stump before turning to Alex with a smile "Ladies first," he grinned. Alex said nothing but gripped the rope as she maneuvered her way down the rocks. Bart watched and wondered at the same time who the strange woman in question was, and he didn't have to ask because a moment later his question was answered by Brock.

"Well I'll be a wallaby's cousin, Alex Steele, alive and well!" He said. "And by crikey, I'm the one who found her!" Brock then slapped his knee before letting out a loud hoot and holler. One that made it sound like he believed he was going to get a reward for this.

Bart only rolled his eyes as he helped her on the boat and as soon as she was on it, she was helping Bart bring the other three aboard while ignoring Brock and his ranting and raving about how he found the lost explorer and how exciting it would be once he brought them back to the village. Next came Riley who followed Alex's route on the rocks and was able to get on the boat with ease. Homer was next and of course he had some difficulty, slipping once and nearly falling in if it weren't for the rope he was holding onto. Finally Shaw was the last one on and was on the boat with them in no time, he really had to maneuver through things.

Homer was standing next to Bart once everyone was on. Bart turned to him and gave him a concerned smile, Homer was about to embrace him when Bart suddenly realized something.

"Where's Maggie and Celia?" he asked.

"On the other side of the river somewhere, we have to get over there now to find them, we don't have much time," said Riley while he was trying to undo the rope on the boat.

"What do you mean?" asked Bart worriedly totally ignoring Homer now.

"They are with another shaman and if we do not find them in time, it could mean disaster," said Shaw as he moved toward Bart.

Bart stood there staring at Shaw; he had seen Shaman in movies before, but of course had never met one. Now he was standing face to face with one, well more like face to chest with one, and he seemed quite intimidating, he really did not want to anger him in any way. But if he was with Homer and Riley it must have meant that he had helped them in some way and that was a good thing.

"Well I guess I should thank you for at least saving my dad and Mr. Post," said Bart with a bit of nervousness in his voice.

"You're welcome, though your dad is a bit stubborn," said Shaw.

Bart turned to Homer who was still standing there a bit turned off by Bart ignoring his plea for a hug. Instead though he waved back sheepishly and then pointed at Alex hoping that everyone's attention would turn to her. Of course it did work somewhat and Jeremy shook her hand. But Alex was in no mood for attention, right now there were two twelve year olds in the jungle with a crazed shaman and they had to find them.

"Alright, we'll get back to me in a bit, but right now we have to take a break and cross the river to find the girls. It's a more important matter and hopefully with any luck thanks to this boat here we might be back before late tomorrow," said Alex.

"Alright then, Bull, bring this boat across," said Bart in a very captain like tone.

And without another word Brock began his maneuvers toward the rocky bank, from there, he would find a good place to dock and begin their search for the girls.

* * *

A few hours had passed and darkness had now taken over the jungle. It had been a few hours since the search began and now the group of rescuers took a quick break in a small clearing. Shaw had gone off in a different direction to find a place to talk to the gods in private, everyone else sat by a small fire and made a quick meal so they could be filled up as they kept moving through the deep, dark jungle. Homer sat beside Bart as they ate their meal, neither of them talked though; they had barely said anything since they ran into each other and Homer sensed that Bart still had some grudges against him that kept him from being too excited to see him. Bart did mention that he was glad that he was alright and that Marge and Lisa were waiting for him at the village, but that's all he really said, he was more concerned about his little sister and was often seen looking in all directions for any sign of her.

Of course sight was the only thing he was using at the moment, he was ignoring all his other senses, in fact everyone was. They seemed to forget they were in a dangerous jungle and that anything could be hunting for them in the trees. But the creature who was watching them at the moment was only interested in one person, Homer. Jagul watched him from some nearby bushes thinking up ways on how to lure him to Cuzkaal. She knew it would not be easy and she also knew that she would need Cuzkaal's help. Finally, without a sound, Jagul leapt away into the night and back to Cuzkaal.

He was not far away; in fact he was only about twenty minutes behind as he followed Jagul through the jungle toward the group. Of course he was falling behind because no mere mortal could catch up to a god. But he knew Jagul would return to him in time with news of where his next ingredient might be. He slowly made his way through the bushes and vines but soon stopped when he heard the sound of leaves crunching in the ground, Jagul was approaching and he knew that she had news for him. He stood there waiting for her to show up and it wasn't long before her sleek body appeared between two trees.

"You found them already?" asked Cuzkaal.

"Apparently the gods told Shawlakhaanoytl that you have the girls and now they are on their way to find you," said Jagul in her calm voice.

"How far from here?" asked Cuzkaal nervously.

"Twenty minutes, though they are taking a break as Shawlakhaanoytl confers with the gods about your location," said Jagul.

"They probably already knew of my whereabouts now and will tell Shawlakhaanoytl any minute, we need to act fast," said Cuzkaal as he stroked his chin.

"What do you suggest? You know you need to be swift with this or our plan will be ruined," said Jagul.

"I know, is anyone else with Homer and Riley?" asked Cuzkaal.

"Yes, Homer's son Bart, Alex Steele who Shawlakhaanoytl apparently saved, Jeremy; one of the leaders of the expedition, and a boat driver named Brock Turnbull. Not one of the bravest men I have met in my travels through the jungle" said Jagul.

"You know Brock Turnbull?" asked Cuzkaal.

"Yes, he has foiled many of my schemes in the past disrupting my ways of capturing sacrifices for other shaman before you, but he is also a coward, he is afraid of anything bigger than a squirrel monkey," said Jagul.

Cuzkaal stood there for a moment deep in thought, Brock was not the one he wanted, but he knew he could use the man as an advantage to capture Homer. But how could he do it? He looked at Jagul who sat there waiting for a response, her tail twitching impatiently knowing that time was of the essence and that he needed to make a decision soon. Finally he snapped his fingers and began walking toward the camp.

"I have an idea Jagul, and it requires you, so listen carefully," he said.

* * *

Homer sat alone on a log, watching the fire slowly die out and still waiting for Shaw to return. Riley was sitting nearby tapping his feet impatiently as he waited for the shaman to hurry up on where to go. Bart was rummaging through a backpack that he brought along for any emergency supplies, still ignoring Homer even though it was a great time to talk to him. Brock was sitting next to Alex and talking her ear off about how much of a fan he was. Alex tried to ignore him as she poked at the fires dying embers and also looked over her shoulder for any signs of Shaw to return.

"So you remember that time when you and Milo visited the Camargue region in southern France and Milo fell into that muddy stretch of land after he fell off his horse. Well I had a similar experience like that so let me tell you all about it…" Brock began while Alex took a deep sigh of annoyance wishing that she did not have to hear another story from an old fan. Being lost in the jungle and never to be seen again had its advantages.

But before Brock could continue, some nearby bushes rustled and then they heard a loud growling noise. Brock jumped up nervously.

"What was that?" asked Bart as he stopped going through the pack.

"Sounds like some sort of cat, possibly a jaguar," said Alex in a matter of fact voice.

Brock took a step behind Alex waiting for her to take out the knife she had on her belt loop. But she wasn't touching it, instead she stood there and listened some more. The bushes rustled loudly again and the growl seemed to be getting closer.

"Don't worry, we are a large group, it might walk away once it realizes it is outnumbered," said Alex.

"And what if it doesn't?" asked Brock nervously.

"Then I will show it my knife," said Alex.

Brock only gulped as the bushes kept rustling and the sound of the animal was getting closer. He really did not like being where he was and he was ready to run at a moment's notice. A very stupid thing to do in the dark jungle, but Brock was Brock, not the smartest adventurers out there; he was more suited to the river where his boat was. Suddenly the jaguar let out a very angry roar, everyone jumped up but not because of the jaguar but because of Brock who let out a scream that would make Ned Flanders' screams sound manly. And with that, Brock was gone in a flash and was running for his life through the dark jungle.

"I knew I should have stayed on the boat!" they heard him yell.

And just like that, the rustling stopped and there was no sign of the jaguar. "Oh great, I think it went after him, some brave adventurer," said Alex in an annoyed voice.

"No kidding, should we go after him?" asked Homer.

Everyone was silent for a moment, none of them wanted to brave the jungle in the dark, even with someone else with them, they did not want to get lost again. Homer looked at Alex but Alex was in no mood to go after a fan who would not shut up, he would probably do the same after she rescued him. And of course no one else felt brave enough to venture out.

"Should we draw straws and decide who should venture out?" asked Homer.

"We don't have straws," said Bart who suddenly touched his nose and winked at everyone. Riley seemed to get the hint of what Bart was doing and touched his nose as well, then Jeremy. Alex saw them and remembered the famous schoolyard game where you had to touch your nose before everyone else to get out of a situation. Of course she quickly followed Bart, Jeremy, and Riley's example and touched her nose while Homer only looked back at them dumbfounded.

"Looks like you're it Homer," said Riley.

"What? how?" asked Homer in a confused voice.

"Touching your nose before everyone else means that you get out of what you want to do, you were the last so you must go find him," said Alex.

"Well shouldn't someone else go with me, I mean what if I get lost?" asked Homer.

"Oh I bet he's not too far, just remember you have a knife and here is a flashlight to find your way," said Alex.

Homer stared at them for a moment, surprised that they would want to send him out to find Brock. But he was the biggest out of all of them, perhaps his girth would be enough to scare the jaguar off, he had no idea but he would soon find out.

Homer entered the trees with his flashlight and the knife firmly attached to his belt. He gripped it with his one arm that was not holding the flashlight so he could bring it out at any moment's notice to fight back what was in the deep dark jungle.

"Bull…" he called out nervously.

There was no reply, and no sounds coming from the trees, only the sound of a few insects as they made their nightly calls. Homer moved forward a little calling out Brocks name a little louder each time, but sounding more scared as the wind began to rustle through the trees. Now every step he took he could hear the bushes move and he jumped at every little movement. What kind of strange creatures were making these noises or was it his own imagination?

"Bull, can you please show yourself, I want to go back, this is not what I signed up for," said Homer as he waved his flashlight around hoping to scare off anything that might attack.

Suddenly a twig snapped, Homer quickly grabbed his knife and held it defensively as he pointed his flashlight toward the sound. He stood there for a moment, wondering if anything would pop out and if the knife was enough to fight back with. Then again maybe it was Brock, but would he be so silent about it?

"Bull, is that you?" he called again. Total silence enveloped him for what seemed like hours, but only seconds passed by before he heard something that made his heart skip a beat.

"Dad!" a familiar young voice called back.

"Hello?" Homer called out curiously, was that his imagination or did he really hear a young voice call out to him?

"Dad! It's me," the voice called.

It took a moment for Homer to register what he was hearing, but when he finally did he let out a big grin. He finally found Maggie at last.

"Maggie where are you?" asked Homer.

"Over here Dad," she called.

Homer raced toward her voice, his flashlight guiding him every step of the way toward his youngest daughter, his daughter that he was so worried about and was now in the jungle looking for him just like he was looking for her. Every step he made, she kept calling to him, telling him he was getting closer and with each passing second a bigger smile grew on Homer's face. He could finally go home soon now that he found her and things would be alright, he would be with Marge again, his daughter would be safe, and things would be okay. They would remember this adventure like it was a funny memory and hopefully never have to experience something like that again.

"How much farther," he called.

"In the clearing here, I have Celia with me, she might be hurt though," Maggie's voice called.

Homer let out a gasp of worry, he hoped Celia was not in any danger; Riley would never live it up. He moved closer until finally he arrived at the clearing in question and was about to run up and embrace Maggie. Instead though, he found it empty and a strange chill began to take hold of him.

"Maggie? I thought you were here," he said nervously.

"You can't always believe what you hear Homer," a silky female voice called.

"Who said that?" Homer said nervously as he darted his eyes back and forth.

"Only the shaman you are looking for, though it seems your prey has outwitted you," said another voice, this time male and one that sounded cold and dangerous.

Homer looked all around him, hoping to find where the voices were coming from. As he did so, his flashlight began to fade as it flickered in and out of power until he could see nothing but the silhouette of trees. Homer stood there shaking wondering what to do now; he had no way of finding his way back and now there were voices calling out to him pretending to be Maggie.

"Don't be afraid Homer, it will all be over soon," the female voice called out.

Homer muffled a scream before letting out a shudder as he felt something soft rub against his legs before a strong scent entered through all his other senses making everything feel hazy and strange. Homer stood there for a moment trying to figure out what was going on, but whatever it was that was attacking his senses was too powerful for him, and before long, darkness took over and he knew nothing more.

* * *

A/N: Oh I enjoyed writing that I hope you enjoyed reading that and that he left you in suspense. And you won't find out what happened to Homer until two chapters from now. Yeah you have to wait and I have no idea how fast my next chapter will be up; hopefully it will be before I leave for Maryland on the 29th. If not I can always update there since I am bringing my laptop, but I might be too busy to do that.

Also I was wondering if you guys could help me with something. On the new website I invited you all to join a while back called Generation Yellow, I have been assigned to create the Simpsons fanfic of the month where basically I will pick 4 fanfics and have fans vote on which one will be fanfic of the month but I need to figure out where I can get people to vote since the website is still a bit small and lacking many new members. I was thinking twitter but I am not sure since I have not actually joined or tried it out, maybe on the forums on here but maybe not. So please let me know if you have an idea on what I should do to get as many votes to do this because hey maybe one of you guys may have a fanfic on the month one day. And please the site. http :/generation yellow . proboards .com /index .cgi.

Any way please review and see you all soon.


	23. Memorable Reunion

"So what are you going to do when you finally see your Dad?" Celia said with a bit of excitement in her voice. Today was the day they could finally move on, Celia's ankle had mended nicely and now they were following Milo through the jungle and back toward the river so they could follow it to the nearest village. They did not say goodbye to Cuzkaal, he was last seen the night before and to Maggie that was alright with her, just thinking about him sometimes made her shudder. Milo on the other hand had no idea what was going to happen to him in the next few days, either he would show himself or not, and if not he would just got back to Cuzkaal and spend his days in the jungle.

"Well," began Maggie as she ducked under a branch that Milo had moved out of the way for them to go through. "I think I will give him the biggest hug I could ever give him because really we both have no idea where they are or what has happened to them, and just seeing them again will be the greatest thing ever," said Maggie.

"Yeah and it's scary not knowing anything, I think I will do that too and probably cry because you know how it is in movies where the characters cry over seeing someone again," said Celia.

"Oh yeah definitely," said Maggie as she jumped over a log.

"I wonder if anyone will put on a celebration of our return," Celia said curiously.

"Well we might be in the news," said Maggie.

"And I'll be we will be even bigger news if Milo shows himself again," Celia said slyly as she winked at Milo.

Milo only rolled his eyes as he moved a vine aside for the girls to go through. He really was not sure if he wanted to return, the idea of going back into civilization worried him. He was not sure how successful he would be without Alex, and what if things went wrong for him, what if the company fired him? Would he do well for himself? He survived three years in the jungle, but that was only with Cuzkaal's help, he really was stuck in between two things now.

"You two can think about your own party, I'll just sit in the sidelines," said Milo.

"But wouldn't you love to come back, just to see civilization again?" asked Celia.

"I like the jungle, its peaceful," said Milo.

Celia only let out an annoyed sigh, she did not get the talk like Maggie had gotten a few nights ago when she went out to talk to him. So of course she did not understand how Milo preferred to have Alex by his side. No one cared as much about the environment as she did and he loved it just as much. Living in a city just made him nervous about the idea, there were just so many people and half of them were mean spirited, most did not care about the environment and would rather cut down trees to make an even bigger city. It was upsetting to him and he knew it would be hard to find someone who had as much passion as he had to talk to about this.

Of course it seemed that Maggie and Celia were passionate, but they were still young and it would be many more years before he could have them join him if he did return and made TV shows again. Cuzkaal cared about the environment and Milo explained how civilized humans would rather pay for food than hunt it and chop down trees just so they could expand their horizons.

"_But you can always live with the environment surrounding you,_" Cuzkaal once said. But that would not stop people from destroying it, people simply did not care.

"You know what I want when I get home?" Maggie asked after there was a long moment of silence through the trees.

"What's that?" asked Celia.

"I would like…" Maggie began.

Before she could even continue though, Milo stopped suddenly and put a finger up, a sign to tell them to be quiet. Maggie and Celia stared back at him as he took his spear and pointed it out in front of him. He moved forward for a bit before stopping and turned to them.

"Stay there, I hear something," said Milo before he moved forward spear at the ready.

"What do you think it is?" asked Maggie.

"Another jaguar?" Celia asked.

Maggie only shrugged as they bent down behind a bush and watched as Milo cautiously made his way forward. Ever since they had been with him, they were amazed by how silent he could move through the jungle without disturbing a leaf and even stepping over the smallest of insects. Cuzkaal probably taught him, shaman seemed to be very good at many things.

After a few minutes of waiting they watched as he suddenly stopped, for the longest time he stared at what was ahead. He seemed bewildered almost like something strange was taking place in front of him. They could hear his voice, but not make out the words. Both really wanted to know what was going on and Maggie was close enough to running out and helping him to see what she could do, instead though they were both startled as they saw Milo drop to his knees. Now both stood there in fear, had he been shot? What was happening in front of them? Could they help him? They knew this could be a dangerous situation so both stayed put and waited to see what had brought Milo down.

What was happening in front of them was not dangerous at all, Milo had moved forward cautiously. He had heard voices, a rare thing to hear in the jungle so he was not sure what to expect. As he inched along, a dense area of vines was blocking his view, but as he moved forward to the right a little he could see what was behind the vines. The first person he saw was a man, one that looked civilized. He looked haggard and tired and his face showed the look of worry. Beside him stood a shaman, one he had never met before and one that looked younger than Cuzkaal. Milo sensed that they could be good people but he remained cautious.

"What's going on here? Are you looking for anyone?" asked Milo, his spear still at hand.

Both turned to him, the civilized man stared back at him, a bit startled that someone else was in the jungle holding up a spear. The shaman stared back at him as well, mostly confused by his presence since he had not known of other civilized people in the jungle.

"Well, can you answer me?" asked Milo.

"Uh yeah…" the man began but before he could continue another person appeared and this was what brought Milo to his knees.

At first he thought she was only a ghost and that she was only a figment of his imagination because he had wanted to see her again for so long. She was staring at the two men for a moment asking why they looked so startled, until she turned to where they were staring and saw Milo standing there alone. She did not recognize him at once, he was thinner than the last time she saw him and his face bore a certain toughness that one would have if they were going through a rough time. But it was his eyes that gave them away, Alex had always noticed how he had those soulful eyes, ones that looked so thoughtful as if he was still trying to forget his troubled past.

"Milo?" Alex said in a surprised yet calm voice.

Milo lowered his spear and stared back, there was a long pause before he shook his head in disbelief. "I have to be dreaming. I saw you disappear among the rapids" he said.

"But I survived thanks to Shaw back there," said Alex as she made her way forward.

The sudden shock of seeing the person he had cared about most all his life brought shivers down Milo's spine before he fell to his knees sobbing heavily. He really hoped the jungle was not playing tricks on him because this was a cruel trick if it was. For a moment he sat there looking down at the leaf litter and sobbed heavily. It couldn't be real, it couldn't. He had been living in the jungle for three years and this entire time Alex Steele was alive? It was too hard to believe. But his skepticism changed when Alex made her way forward and kneeled down in front of him before lifting up his chin to look him in the eyes.

For the longest time, both Alex and Milo stared at each other, both trying to figure out if this was real, or if their minds really were playing tricks. For Milo, tears continued to stream down his face, a first since the last night he saw her disappear in the river. It was so hard to imagine that she was still alive and standing right there before him; she was there to make his life meaningful again and worth doing what he loved. For Alex she saw the young boy she had taught for two years before never seeing him again, she saw the innocence he had when he first arrived to help her and how nervous he had been and how shy. It was so hard to believe it was really him, Milo Sanchez in the flesh kneeling before her in the deep, dark jungle, the same place she had lived in for three years yet never knew of his presence. Finally she did the only thing she could do; she leapt forward and embraced him.

"It's so hard to believe that it really is you, I really hope this is not a dream," said Milo.

"It's not a dream Milo, I'm really here for you," said Alex.

Milo then began to sob even more, he was so glad she was finally back into his life, he didn't want this to change at all. He just wanted her to be there and comfort him after he had gone through so much during the time Alex went missing. Nothing seemed to matter during those brief moments of happiness and he had forgotten why he was there in the first place. He did not want to question how Alex survived or why he did not bother to notice her presence in the jungle he just knew that she was there and that if he did go home she would be going home with him. Alex could sense this and let him sob on her chest while she looked toward the bushes and saw two little girls standing there watching them with curious eyes.

She knew in an instant that they were Maggie and Celia and that he had taken care of them in the few days they had gone missing. She also knew that they were just as surprised as she was for when she first saw Milo and they looked a bit hesitant about coming forward.

"It's alright you two, you're safe now," said Alex with a warm smile.

Celia and Maggie moved forward, how did Alex Steele even get here? And did she know a way to get them home safely? They knew better to ask while Alex had Milo with her in their happy moment of seeing each other again so both stood where they were, watching, not sure what to do until a familiar voice called to Celia.

"Celia?" it said.

Celia looked up, and there in front of her stood Riley, his arms outstretched ready to hug her. Celia cried out in happiness and ran forward, ignoring the rule that her ankle should not have too much pressure on it. When she reached him, he grabbed her by the waist and held her in the air before hugging her tightly.

"I was so scared, I thought I would never see you again," Riley cried as tears fell down his face.

"I wouldn't have been scared if I were you, because I know mom was watching us and keeping us safe," Celia said with great happiness.

Riley did not speak but only stared at his daughter with great joy, tears still falling down his face at what she had just proclaimed. It had to be true, Charlotte had watched over them and brought them back, he no longer had to worry about her, she was with him again and they would be home soon.

From a few feet away, Maggie watched the happy reunion between a father and his daughter; it made her wonder if her reunion between her father would be like this. She looked around in the trees and saw the shaman they were with. This shaman did not seem as dangerous as Cuzkaal did and Maggie felt safe with him near but she could tell something was wrong by how he looked back at her with a concerned face. Maggie moved forward to talk to him, instead the bushes rustled behind him and for a brief moment Maggie's eyes widened with excitement. Maybe nothing bad had happened at all and her father was finally coming for her at last.

To her surprise though, she discovered someone else was making her way toward her, someone she did not expect and was more surprised than anything when he finally appeared. It was Bart; apparently he had made his way down from the states to help find her and the others. Bart stood where he was and stared back at Maggie, he smiled at her but it was only a half hearted smile like Shaw had done. Something was wrong. Finally Maggie walked up to her brother, there were no hugs as Bart bent down on one knee and looked Maggie in the eyes.

"He didn't make it did he?" asked Maggie sadly.

"He did," said Bart.

"Then where is he, what happened?" asked Maggie as she tried to look over Bart's shoulder for any signs of her father.

"You had a shaman with you?" asked Bart.

"Cuzkaal? Yeah but we haven't seen him since yesterday afternoon, why?" asked Maggie, her voice sounding more nervous after Bart asked about Cuzkaal.

"Well there's a reason for that."

* * *

A/N: Look at that a short chapter, yeah I know this chapter was very sappy but it was time for a reunion so hopefully you liked some of it, I don't really care for it. Now it's time to find out what Cuzkaal wants with Homer, but first I am going on vacation so you will have to wait for an update until I get back. I return on the 9th so there will be an update sometime after that. Looks like I have about six more chapters to go and it will be finally done. I can't wait to finish, this is the longest time I have ever worked on a fanfic, yeah I'm not really counting Tales from Beyond the Pride Lands because I just kind of gave up on that one. Well please review and I will see you all when I get back.


	24. Life Force

Homer had no idea how long he had been in the state of unconsciousness, all he knew was that when he woke up it felt as if he had spent all night at Moe's. His head ached as if someone had dropped a huge brick onto it and his entire body felt sore, almost like he had been lifting weights the night before.

Homer had not opened his eyes yet, he knew from experience that if he did, any light would burn into his eyes causing more pain and make him feel miserable than he already was. For a few moments he lay there in a fetal position waiting for his headache to dissipate so he could figure out where he was and how he could get out of it. All he wanted now was to be with his family, in his own bed close to Marge, away from wherever he was right now. He knew Marge would make him feel better by rubbing his sore head and softly humming to him as he lay beside her. He missed her and he missed Maggie most as well, he hoped she was okay especially after he had been tricked into following her voice. Had she been tricked as well? It worried him deeply and he wanted to save her, but he was too physically exhausted to move, it made him feel useless and that he had failed to ever see his daughter again. Just thinking about what might be happening to her now made him sob heavily, making his headache feel slightly worse.

Finally he knew he had to open his eyes some point in time, he knew he had to find out where he was and maybe, just maybe get out of there safely. But he had no idea who he was dealing with. Shaw said that Cuzkaal was dangerous, but why had he tricked him, he didn't need him, or did he? Slowly Homer opened his eyes and to his surprise he learned that the area around him was not that bright but almost like a room with a closed shade in the afternoon. His eyes darted back and forth around the room looking for any signs of someone he knew, but it was empty.

"Hello?" he called softly so as not to make his ears ring.

For many moments there was no response all was silent until he saw a figure move among the shadows. He tried to squint to see who exactly it was but he could not make out the form until it came almost nose to nose with him. A jaguar. Homer did not move though, he knew of big cats and how they could rip a human to shreds, but right now he felt he deserved it and waited for a moment to strike. He held his breath for a moment waiting for it to come, but it never did. Homer looked back up to see if the jaguar was still there, it was, but it was sitting in front of him, eyeing him while the tip of its tail twitched every now and again.

"Well don't you want to eat me?" asked Homer.

"Eat you? Eat you! Bah! I would rather watch you squirm in agony than eat you, you look too high in fat," said the jaguar with an icy sneer.

Homer looked up at her, startled that the creature actually talked back at him. She looked like any normal jaguar but she was very different than the ones he saw in zoos. He relaxed a bit knowing that she would do no harm but not for long before another figure came into view. This one was human and Homer could already sense that this was not going to go over well. Slowly he lifted himself off the ground and sat up, his head swimming but he tried his best to remain firm.

"Well, I see you have finally awakened from your short slumber, are you ready to help me?" asked Cuzkaal as he bent down to Homer's level.

"Where's my daughter?" Homer asked as angrily as possible.

"She's fine, I got what I needed from her and she is with the others, surprisingly the ingredient I needed from her is not as important as the one I need from you," said Cuzkaal in a nonchalant voice.

"Well then take what you need from me and let me get back to my daughter," said Homer.

"Oh no Homer, I'm afraid that what I am about to take from you will not be something you can walk away from for it is very important to you because it is your life force," said Cuzkaal.

My life force?" asked Homer startled.

"Yes Homer, what's the one thing you need to survive?" asked Cuzkaal.

Homer sat there, his head still swimming and in no mood for any kind of quizzes, he only wanted to get things over with and see his daughter again, he didn't feel like thinking so he answered with the first thing that came to mind.

"Your…nose?" he asked.

"Nose! Nose! What in the gods name are you thinking?" asked Cuzkaal.

"About my family, duh," said Homer.

"Well your family is on their own without you from now on, I need you more than you are needed by them," said Cuzkaal.

"How do you even know that, I have a daughter looking for me and a wife who will be in shambles without me, you on the other hand only need me for some stupid purpose that no one else will care about except…" Homer was not able to finish the sentence because a second later, he felt a heavy blow hit him on the side of his face sending him falling back down to the floor, he hit his head on the hard earth causing more pain.

"The gods have spoken their choice, you cannot fight back," Jagul said, her claws still unsheathed. Homer stared at them, they were glistening red as he felt something wet trickle down the side of his face. Jagul had taught him a lesson that he would not soon forget.

"Now either you cooperate or Jagul will swipe you even harder a second time," said Cuzkaal as he made Home sit up. Homer sat there nursing his injured cheek while Cuzkaal stood in front of him holding a large stick with a green ball at the top.

"Now what I want from you Homer is not easy to obtain, I have to slowly get it out of you so it will be easier to capture once I am able to get at your heart. You see Homer there are two things to this ingredient I need but both are connected together and that is your heart and soul," said Cuzkaal.

"But that will kill me," said Homer in a worried tone.

"Indeed it will Homer, but your soul will move on in the form of my apprentice who will work for me, my greatness will make him flourish when my life comes to an end. He will become a great shaman just like me while your heart pumps his blood as a life giving force. He can go about his day helping those in need while consulting the gods for important prophecy's and other life changing events, he will…"

"Can you move along please, your monologue is getting really annoying," said Homer, by this time his headache was now pounding.

"Fine, apparently you get the basic idea. But you are probably wondering how I am going to take your heart and soul," said Cuzkaal as he looked Homer in the eye.

"Some sort of magic explained through another monologue," said Homer as he rolled his eyes, Cuzkaal ignored his last remark.

"Well of course, but how it is done is like this, slowly I will give you a sickness, so far you have already received the first with the headache you are enduring. Each sickness will be worse than the first and each one will make you weaker than you were originally. Once it's over and done, your soul will be ready to leave your body and at the right moment I will capture it while your heart is still beating, but only just. You won't feel any pain since you will finally fall into unconsciousness and become a mere husk of what you once were," said Cuzkaal as he made his way to a small pool. He was not in the cave that he summoned Jagul but in a very old hut that he converted years ago into a place where he could practice his shaman rituals.

"Why me, don't your gods understand that I have a family?" Homer asked in a nervous voice. Just the thought of dying in this dark place without Marge or the kids near him upset him deeply. What if they never found his body? How would Maggie feel about all this? She probably had some grief for even making him get this far to bond, but he was not expecting something this bad to happen. He only wanted to be home now where death would not reach him so soon.

"Because it's the god's choice and they even told me that your years of cheating death are at an end," said Cuzkaal as he dipped something in the water. A moment later the water began to churn and bubble with heavy smoke coming out of the water. Homer watched it billow wondering what was going to happen now and if he would have to drink what Cuzkaal had thrown in.

It wasn't long before he realized that he did not need to drink anything. Moments later, he felt himself become more weary and tired than how he already felt. His eyes only half open while he felt his throat get sore and scratchy. He tired to cough and he could feel his chest heave as he tried to get the mucus out of his throat, but the more he tried the more painful it became, finally exhaustion took over and he sat there too sick to even swallow. He had been given the common cold.

"The gods have told me about your life Homer, I know all the about the incident where you fell down the gorge where you live. Not many can survive a fall like that but somehow you got out of it with a few broken bones, you lived Homer, you lived to see another day. And what about the time you had that heart attack and had no money for an operation, yet you trusted the person with the least experience to do it, you managed to pull through but how long did you spend recovering from that?" Cuzkaal said while he worked some more in the pool.

"T-Two months," Homer said in a tired voice.

"Two months eh, missed a lot of work then, but there have also been a few times where you cheated death without knowing it," Cuzkaal began as another ingredient was put into the mixture.

"What do you mean?" asked Homer.

"Do you remember that time you took the day off from work eleven years ago?" asked Cuzkaal.

Homer stared back at him with a clueless face, apparently the gods never bothered to tell Cuzkaal that he was not the best person to show up for work. He had skipped work on a number of occasions, rarely because he was sick and mainly because he was doing some wacky adventure that got him into trouble. So really he had no idea what day Cuzkaal was referring to, but he was about to find out.

"Let me rephrase that then, do you remember the day eleven years ago when you took off work and that night they discovered a fault in the generator and they had to shut down the place for a few days?" asked Cuzkaal.

Homer thought for a minute digging deep as he returned eleven years ago when he would skip work more often than he did now. It was a while but he soon remembered it after having to go to special safety meetings just in case a generator did explode.

"Yeah I remember now, we all got lucky with that one," said Homer his voice now sounding raw from his sore throat.

"Of course you did, if you would have gone to work, that generator would have exploded and you would have had one of the most painful deaths imaginable. For two years you would have suffered before finally dying painfully with your wife by your side, leaving her with the kids on her own. They would be growing up without you now; Maggie would be without a father and taking care of herself and not in the jungle giving me my ingredient, so it worked out in the end. You have lived for another nine years, just long enough for her to know you."

Cuzkaal smirked at Homer as he stood face to face with him; there was a look of arrogance on his face even under all that red paint. Homer disliked it immensely and glared back as angrily as he could even though his eyes showed exhaustion in them. Finally, Homer decided to show how much he disliked being in Cuzkaal's presence and hocked a loogie straight into Cuzkaal's face. Cuzkaal let out a growl of annoyance as he wiped his face of Homer's germs. Letting out a sigh he pretended nothing happened and continued speaking.

"Or I could mention the time when Maggie was two, ten years ago when you opted not to do any errands on the way home because you wanted to go to Moe's. Marge was angry about that wasn't she? But if you would have gone, you would have gotten into a very bad car wreak, you would have lived, but you would have broken your back and you would spend the rest of your life in a wheelchair, never to walk again, never one hundred percent healthy, always in pain and always struggling to keep the family together."

Homer only stared back at Cuzkaal anger rising inside of him; he wanted to fight back, but knew he was not capable of escaping without being slashed to bits by the angry jaguar who was also standing a few feet away. He wanted to find the rest of the crew, he wanted to be with Maggie, he wanted to be out of this horrible place away from any of the pain he knew he would soon experience. He sat there for a moment waiting for Cuzkaal to do something else, but both Jagul and Cuzkaal only stared back with evil eyes as if they were waiting for something to happen to him. Homer braced himself, he had no idea what was about to happen but he could sense it would be much worse than the common cold.

As he braced himself, he became more scared about what would happen and a great feeling of anxiety took over him. He darted his eyes back and forth at his two tormentors who both watched him with fascination in their eyes, as he did so, he could feel the sweat pour down his face almost like he had run a marathon. Then almost as if he had really been running in a marathon, he felt a tightness in his chest before he began to breathe heavily. It was not as bad as a heart attack but it was still just as painful as he tried to breathe in and out, but every second that he tried was slow and painful. He tried to cough again like he had done with the common cold, but the more he tried the harder it was to breathe. Finally he gave up and lay down on his back waiting for air to come to him, he could hear Cuzkaal laughing in the background and he knew that if he was not incapacitated he would try his hardest to beat the daylights out of the horrible shaman.

Finally after what seemed like hours, fresh air came back into his lungs and he could breathe again. It felt so refreshing as he continued to lay there letting his body receive all the oxygen it needed. He closed his eyes for a moment, imagining himself in a place that was safe and inviting and where he could be with his family and not have to worry about anything. He pictured himself standing in the backyard, telling Maggie that it was time to go in while the sky around him glowed into lovely shades of orange and pink.

"_I don't want to go in yet Dad," she said as she ran to the swings._

"_But it's getting late and the sun will be gone soon," he said._

"_Aww come on Dad, just five more minutes, you can push me on the swings," Maggie said._

_Homer watched Maggie, he remembered her earlier years, how she was always playing and looking for an adventure, always on her feet. He remembered how he would often have to go outside just before sunset to call Maggie in. Of course Maggie would always beg to stay out for just a few more minutes and Homer would always give in. _

"_Alright but five minutes and we have to go in," said Homer as he began to push Maggie on the swings._

"_Higher Dad! Higher!" Maggie cried._

_Homer pushed with all his might as Maggie swung back and forth laughing at the fun she was having with her father._

"_Higher Daddy!" she called._

_Homer sighed; he knew he had to remember these years as a special time with his youngest daughter. But like Bart and Lisa he still drifted from her and now she was twelve. This time he had literally drifted from her sight and now only a miracle would bring him back to his daughter. _

He opened his eyes from his moment of happiness, almost forgetting where he was until he noticed two eyes staring down at him. Eyes filled with hate and satisfaction that she was helping to cause all the suffering he was enduring. Homer wanted to back away from her, but he was lying next to a wall and there was no way to get away from the angry jaguars gaze.

"In case you were wondering that was an Asthma attack," said Jagul as she walked away from him and toward Cuzkaal who was sitting by the pool of water staring down at it as it bubbled and churned.

"How about another experience," said Cuzkaal, never looking up from the water.

"Just get this over with, I don't care anymore," said Homer with a heavy sigh.

"Nah I like making you wait a bit for the next round. How about your early years with your wife before you even had children. The time you drank too much and got alcohol poisoning, imagine if you didn't. You would have never given her children, you both never would have married and Marge would have found someone else to love and care for. Maggie would never exist and I would be alone in the jungle still, wondering if I would ever return to what I used to do."

Homer listened to Cuzkaal, remembering his younger and much wilder years, how he nearly gave Marge many heart attacks from drinking so much. He always felt terrible about those incidences even though he still ended up doing them on occasion. It really was something to be ashamed of, but he had friends who liked to party and he easily gave in to peer pressure. Yet Marge had a way of pulling him back and that's what he loved about her and made him wish that she could be there right now helping him get out of the situation he was in. Hell, he just wanted to lie on her lap and be comforted by her as he dealt with what he was going through. He really missed her terribly, he wondered how he could even live without her, she was always there for him, helping him when he needed it most. Yet he was rarely ever there for her and she needed all the help she could get considering how dysfunctional the family got. But that's what made the family great, always something going on and always full of adventure.

But Marge was not the one who gave him adventures, it was always his kids. His thoughts now not only turned to Marge and Maggie, but to Bart and Lisa as well. Even though Bart was in the group helping them get back home, he was still not as excited to see him and barely even talked to him. Homer knew why, it was all because of his selfishness and he knew he had to apologize to his son if he ever got out of this. Bart deserved to have a loving father who cared about his ambitions and dreams and Homer rarely ever showed that around him. Bart was such a surprise in his life that he apparently still had no idea how to be a dad around him, and now Bart was a young man taking care of himself and no longer needing his father. He had failed teaching Bart lessons, he had failed at being a dad to his only son and now there was nothing he could do to change that.

Lisa was another problem, but it wasn't as bad as Bart's, he encouraged her to do good and thought she was the most wonderful thing to come out of the Simpson name. Such a smart young lady but with feelings that could easily be hurt, one of the many reasons why she joined the Peace Corps. She just wanted to get away from him, away from her dumbass father. Homer now felt terrible now, not just because he was alone in a secret hut with a power hungry shaman and a bloodthirsty jaguar god, but because he now realized how much he had let his family down. Sure he had beat death many times, but that did not matter, what mattered to him was his family and how much they needed him, even if he was not the best at taking care of them. He missed them and let out a sigh of sadness while he heard Cuzkaal slowly make his way forward while the mist began to swirl around him.

A few moments later, he felt another anxiety attack come on. This one felt a bit different than the last one, his breathing was not as labored, but he did sweat and he began to feel very nauseous. He sat up and could feel his muscles ache as his stomach churned and made him belch a few times. After a while though, his stomach was getting more upset until finally he could no longer hold anything in before he finally bent down and vomited.

This time he had been given the flu, a sickness that took a lot out of you and left you exhausted for quite a few days as you tried to recover. For quite a while Homer stood there, expelling all of what he had eaten in the last few days leaving him more exhausted than he had been since waking up. He now only wanted to lay there and whimper while his stomach churned even though there was nothing left in his stomach but acid and bile. Finally he could not take it anymore and lay back down in a fetal position feeling very miserable while he closed his eyes ignoring both the shaman and the jaguar. He knew they had plans for something much worse, how soon they would do it he was not sure, but now he wished it would all be over and done with.

"Now then Homer," Cuzkaal began.

But before Cuzkaal could even begin to start the next attack on Homer's immune system, his ears were met with the sound of shattered glass. Jagul let out a growl and jumped up in surprise while Cuzkaal turned to where he left the vial of Milo's blood on a nearby shelf. It was now broken and shattered into hundreds of small pieces; the blood was dripping down the shelf making it impossible for him to collect it again later. Cuzkaal growled in anger and turned to the nearest window where he saw a figure running back into the jungle and Cuzkaal knew that his plan had just been sabotaged.

* * *

A/N: Uhhhh… well I don't know what to say about that, I knew this chapter was coming so don't be too surprised by how dark it was. Because of that the rating has been brought up just to be on the safe side. I bet you are wondering who the figure is, well you'll find out in the next chapter, I have five more to go. I cannot wait to finish, I hope to get this finished by the end of September, so keep your fingers crossed that this goal will be set. So please review and let me know what you think of this. Hope you all have a nice week and I will update as soon as I can.


	25. Escape

Shaw stayed low behind a bush as he waited for Milo to appear again. Milo had decided to distract Cuzkaal in such a way that would make him leave Homer for some time. Shaw had no idea what Milo had planned, but he hoped that Milo would do it correctly so he could get Homer out in time. He knew that this situation was vital and any slipup could cause disaster. For many tense moments he sat there quietly, hoping for something to happen, until finally he heard something break. Shaw stood up and soon saw Milo running into the jungle, what he had done Shaw had no idea, but it wasn't long before he saw Cuzkaal appear.

"Milo get back here, you'll pay for what you just did!" Cuzkaal yelled out before he disappeared into the trees.

Shaw waited for a few moments, making sure that the coast was clear and that Milo had lead Cuzkaal out of the hut long enough to rescue Homer and get him as far away from Cuzkaal's territory as possible.

Finally he knew that the time was right and made his way forward. He quickly found the entrance and very cautiously made his way forward into the run down hut. He knew that Jagul was there and that she would stand between him and Homer at all costs so he had to be careful. He did know how to put a spell on her but he also had to be quick with it because Jagul would most likely move out of the way fast enough if she saw it coming, and Cuzkaal would return to undo it. He looked around for signs of both of them, but it was Jagul who found him first.

"Ah if it isn't the humble shaman," Jagul said coldly as she appeared out of the shadows.

"Where's Homer?" Shaw asked while he made sure he gave Jagul a wide berth.

"He is still alive and kicking, though once Cuzkaal returns it won't be for long. If I were you I would give up now and leave, you will never save him, he is ours now," Jagul said as she circled Shaw.

"I am not leaving him, he has a daughter waiting for him," said Shaw.

Jagul stood there and let out a purr of amusement. Shaw was not leaving until he had Homer and she had promised Cuzkaal that she would stay with him at all costs. She knew Shaw could not kill her so she was confident that she would adhere to Cuzkaal's wish.

"Remember if you want him, you have to get past me first," Jagul said as she made her way over to a figure lying in a corner.

Shaw moved forward to get a better look, there he saw Homer's silhouette, his back toward him, but he could already tell that Cuzkaal had done a number on him. He was barely even moving when Jagul nudged him slightly to get his attention; he only made a soft moan.

"What are you trying to take from him?" asked Shaw.

"Only his life force," Jagul said calmly.

"Life force!" Shaw gasped worriedly. Before Cuzkaal abandoned him for Bahzuul, he had been taught how to remove the heart and soul with care so as not to ruin it in any way. Sure you could get it out quickly but that way was harder and slipups were common. He remembered what Cuzkaal had used to remove the soul. First it was the headache, followed by the cold, then an asthma attack, the flu, a heart attack, and the last two could be anything from malaria to dengue fever, to pneumonia, cancer and even rabies. Shaw was worried now, how many of those had Cuzkaal done and was it too late to save Homer.

Jagul growled at Shaw and moved away from Homer padding lightly around Shaw as if she was tempting him to even try to rescue him. Shaw knew better though, he had faced normal jaguars before, and they were never easy to defeat. Now staring face to face with Jagul the jaguar god, he knew that this was going to be much more difficult. What made it harder was that he had no idea how sick Homer was.

"What sickness does he have now?" he finally asked.

"We have just given him the flu, next one planned will be the heart attack, but you know that will not be the last, there are two more to go after that one," said Jagul.

Shaw let out a sigh, glad he got to Homer in time but still very nervous about the situation, Homer could have been worse off, but at the moment he was probably very dehydrated because of the flu. He had to figure something out; he stared back at Homer who still had his back turned while Jagul gave him an icy stare as she stayed beside her captor.

"Homer, if you can hear me I will do my best to get you out of this soon," Shaw called worriedly as he tried to think of something to do.

Homer let out a low moan as he slowly turned over to see if someone was really there to help. For a few seconds he stared at Shaw as if he had never seen the young shaman before in his life. Even though he felt miserable, he sat up and rubbed his eyes for a moment before staring back at Shaw once more.

"Cuzkaal is making me hallucinate isn't he?" asked Homer.

"No Homer it's really me," Shaw replied as he took a step forward making Jagul growl as she moved closer to Homer and began to unsheathe her claws.

"Stay back Shaw for I have weapons that I have been born with," growled Jagul while she showed off her pearly whites.

"Now now Jagul lets be reasonable here, you like making bargains don't you?" asked Shaw.

"Only when I am not following another shaman so don't trying bargaining it will not work," said Jagul.

Shaw grumbled under his breath, there always was a catch with those gods, nothing was ever easy. Of course he didn't really have a bargaining idea; he was just trying to find a way to make it easier to get Homer back. For now though he had to find a way to immobilize her and he had to do it fast or she would sense it every time. What was worse was that she was in front of Homer and if she moved quickly, he might put the spell on Homer which would be much too powerful for him and could kill him.

"Give up you weakling, your plans will not work," Jagul growled.

"No! I won't give up, I made a promise to his daughter and son that I would return with him and I make my promises even if I have to fight for them," said Shaw.

"Fool! I could most likely kill you after your first plan to exterminate me fails, so tell his children that there is no hope their time with him is at an end," said Jagul.

Shaw's eyes suddenly lit up, that was it, tell his children! He knew what he had to do now. "If I have to tell his children then surely he has something to tell them in his last few hours of life."

Jagul stood there, eyes narrowed, thinking about what Shaw had just said. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"You know, final goodbyes for family members, Homer must have something and I think I should have at least a minute with him to know what he would want to tell them," said Shaw.

Jagul stared at Shaw before turning back at Homer who did not even seem to listen, his head was down and he was shaking as if he was cold, a typical symptom during the flu. Would Homer even have anything to say? Would he even be coherent? Did he even care right now for his family? Jagul did not know, nor did she care, Shaw did and she knew that he was desperate to help him, he would beg her until Cuzkaal returned, then there would be an amazing fight. But then again neither would be able to kill each other. It was best to get it all over with.

"Fine then, I will give you two minutes, no more, no less," said Jagul as she stepped aside to let Shaw talk to Homer.

Shaw quickly ran forward before he stopped a few feet from Homer. He stared down at him, who did not look up but still covered his face and shivered. He hated seeing someone like this, it always made him nervous, but he knew he would be okay as long as he stayed hydrated. Shaw had brought a flask of water with him that he had kept hooked to his belt, it was a special kind of water, the kind that would help him bring his strength back once Homer drank it. Shaw grabbed it out of his belt and bent down to Homer's level and nudged Homer's shoulder. Homer moaned before looking up at Shaw and the flask of water in his hand. Homer stared at it curiously before looking up at Shaw.

"You're giving me beer?" he asked.

"No, its only water, you need to stay hydrated after what you have gone through," said Shaw.

"What's the point, I'm only going to die soon any way," Homer said as he pushed the flask away.

"How sure are you of that?" Shaw asked in a low voice.

"Well you can't defeat Jagul there and you even said that shaman cannot kill other shaman," said Homer.

"One more minute," Jagul called from behind them.

"Ah I cannot defeat her, but I do have a way of keeping her out of our way just long enough for all of us to get out of Cuzkaal's territory and home free," said Shaw.

"How?" asked Homer as he lifted an eyebrow.

"Shaw? I thought you were asking for Homer's final words, why are you the one talking?" asked Jagul suspiciously as she moved forward to find out.

"Because…" Homer had no idea what Shaw said after that because it was in native tongue. Jagul barely had any time to react as Shaw pointed his staff at her, a shaft of light burst from the tip of the staff and hit Jagul squarely in the chest. Jagul let out a roar of anger, but it was only a half roar before her entire body became stiff, almost like she had been taxidermied by a hunter. "…apparently gods cannot predict the future."

Homer stared back in awe at what he had just seen. He tried to get up to inspect what Shaw had done but promptly fell back down on the floor, weak from the sicknesses Cuzkaal had given him.

"Don't try to strain yourself, just drink this it will help bring your strength back," said Shaw as he gave Homer the flask.

"How fast will my strength return? I know Cuzkaal will return and see that his prized god is currently lawn ornament…blegh, why do your healing things always taste so bad!" Homer exclaimed as he took a sip.

"Because it's good for you now keep drinking, the faster you do the faster your strength will return, but you can lean on me as I take you back up there, your son and daughter is waiting for you," said Shaw as he helped Homer up.

"So you did find Maggie?" asked Homer as he tried to stand with the help of Shaw.

"Yeah, she is fine too, surprisingly Milo Sanchez found her," said Shaw as he tried to balance himself with Homer's girth, he was still heavy even though he had not eaten much for a few days and had lost most of his lunch a few moments ago.

"You mean the one we never saw again because we thought he took his own life?" asked Homer.

"Yup, he had been living across the river, surprising that I did not know about that," said Shaw as he opened the door and brought Homer back out into the jungle.

Carefully Shaw led Homer through a trail that would bring them back to the group. He could feel Homer's anxious strides as they moved along, he knew Homer wanted to see his daughter again, but he also knew that Homer needed to take it easy, he was still very weak and his body needed to adjust for a few more minutes. Shaw tried to show that he needed to slow down by pulling him back and taking his time as they walked through the jungle. He did not tell Homer how much further they were going but apparently Homer could somehow sense it when they were close.

Finally they reached the clearing where the group was; Shaw parted the trees and stopped at the edge of the clearing. Everyone was silent when they saw them; no one said a word as they stared back at the shaman who returned an important person back with him. Homer looked around at the group. He saw Riley and Celia standing together next to Alex, both very happy that the group was finally together again. Then he saw Jeremy looking just as worried as he had been when he first rescued them. Right next to him stood Bart, a small smile forming on his face, he seemed to be happy that his father was there again, but made no movement to get closer. It was a smaller figure in front of him who did that. Maggie was now moving forward to meet up with her father for the first time in many days.

Homer could not wait any longer and pushed himself off of Shaw. He tried to run forward, but his legs could not keep up with his longing to see his daughter again and after only three steps, he fell forward and into the mud on his knees. For a moment, Homer sat there looking down on the ground, sobbing quietly.

He did not hear Maggie make her way toward him and he did not know that she was right in front of him until she bent down and touched him lightly on the shoulder. Homer looked up to find Maggie staring back at him, eyes filled with warmth that seemed to tell him she was glad to finally see him again after so many days. Homer let out a sigh of satisfaction before tears began to fall from his face, not from because he could not run up and greet her, but because she was there in front of him, alive and well after surviving the scariest moments of their lives. Finally, Maggie leapt forward and hugged her father tightly before letting the tears fall down her face as well. They were finally together again, all of them were, save for Milo who would hopefully join them again later.

"I'm so sorry Dad," Maggie cried through the tears.

"Why are you sorry sweetheart, I'm here with you again, we can finally go home," said Homer as he petted her scraggly hair.

"Because I made you go on this trip and you didn't want it to end up like the one you had with Bart eleven years ago. But it's almost exactly like that, and I put you through so much," said Maggie.

"It's okay Maggie, I went on an adventure with you and it taught me to be a better Dad, I realized how much you guys meant to me, I feel bad for how I've treated you over the years. And besides, that trip was not at all like this one," said Homer.

"How so?" asked Maggie as she wiped her nose.

"Because Flanders is not around to stupid it up," Homer laughed.

Maggie could not help but laugh at that either. Her father really knew how to make light of situations. Of course they were not out of the woods yet, but both could not help but continue to embrace each other for as long as they could. It had felt like months since they had seen each other and both knew how important it was to see each other again alive and well. Homer loved his daughter dearly and he had been so worried, now the worrying was over, they could finally go home.

Both sat there for a moment letting everything seep in and it wasn't long before Bart finally made his way forward. He did not bend down to hug Homer, he only nodded, satisfied that his father was alive and well. Homer smiled warmly at Bart and motioned him to come down and hug his old man. Bart knew there was no way out of this and finally did so for a brief moment, not at all like Maggie had done.

"Well Dad…" he began. But instead of trying to talk, Shaw handed Homer the flask of water that he had dropped when running to greet Maggie.

"Just finish this, I know it's important to talk to each other again but a storm is coming and so is Cuzkaal, we need to be out of here before both of them hit," said Shaw. And at that moment lighting struck and thunder cracked in the distance.

* * *

Milo Sanchez was running, he was now nearly a half mile from the hut where Cuzkaal had been, now he was running as quickly as he could to hopefully get the plan that he had in mind into action. He knew Cuzkaal was behind him, a few times he could hear the shaman's steps as he ran into vines and branches. He also knew he was close to where he wanted to be so now he had to be extra careful. He stopped running now and looked around the area for what he was looking for, he remembered he made the trap with Cuzkaal and he remembered how Cuzkaal kept it well hidden so he could easily trap animals in there. They had fixed it about a week ago and apparently it was well hidden enough that no animals had run into it yet.

Suddenly he heard a snap a few feet away, Milo jumped and at the same time saw a spear leaning against a tree, he had to be in the right place now. Quickly he grabbed the spear and held it in front of him waiting for Cuzkaal to come closer.

"I know you're there Cuzkaal, show yourself," said Milo.

Cuzkaal said nothing but continued to make his way forward, Milo had his spear at the ready, listening carefully for any changes in movement that Cuzkaal would make. He knew he was getting close, but he was also taking his time doing so, almost as if he was also planning on attacking him as well. Milo waited though hoping that what he was about to do would work and that very soon he would catch up to the group and head on home.

Suddenly a bolt of lightning struck, it was far away but it was enough to catch Milo off guard and at the same time Cuzkaal finally appeared. Milo had barely any time to react as he backed up a little, a mistake that cost him his plans. What he was searching for had actually found him and it wasn't long before he found himself lying in a deep pit covered in mud. He had missed the spikes that he had put in by inches thankfully but now he was stuck in there with no way out.

Milo lifted himself up and looked around the walls for a good grasping place, he was about to try a spot when Cuzkaal appeared.

"Looks like whatever you planned to do has failed," said Cuzkaal with a snicker.

Milo growled and grabbed the spear he was holding and threw it at Cuzkaal. Cuzkaal was of course ready for this and simply moved aside a little bit letting the spear fly past him where it hit a tree. Cuzkaal snickered and bent down staring at Milo. Milo only glared back at him wondering what the shaman he had trusted for so long was going to do to him.

"I can't believe I trusted you, you told me you were kicked out because the chief no longer wanted you but now I know the truth, the horrible truth. It's disgusting!" said Milo angrily.

"Oh well I didn't want you to see me as some sort of ogre, I knew you had such a troubled past that you needed someone to confine in, I of course was there for you. Nursed you back to health, taught you the skills of the rain forest. Now how would that have been if you would have known about my past?" asked Cuzkaal.

"I would have left you and spent the rest of my time alone, maybe even living with other tribes, but I just can't believe it, you deserve the worst death imaginable," said Milo.

"Oh and I bet you would love to finish me off, too bad you are stuck in that pit, no way out except for when the storm hits," said Cuzkaal just as lighting struck behind him.

Milo looked at the walls nervously, he knew about these pits when it rained heavily. He had found many of his catches lying in the water that had filled up the pit. It was never a pretty sight and he hated getting them out. He knew Cuzkaal was going to leave him in there and now he had no way of escaping and Cuzkaal could reach the group again before they could even leave his territory. For the first time since he had lost Alex, he was very scared and had no idea what to do now.

"I will return soon to take your blood again since you ruined my last vial, for now though I need to return to what I was doing, finishing off Homer for my glorious return to power," said Cuzkaal as he stood up ready to leave Milo.

"Hah! Good luck with that, hopefully Shaw rescued him and now they are far away from your territory now," said Milo.

"You think so huh?" asked Cuzkaal with a smirk.

"I know so, Shaw had an idea to immobilize Jagul long enough to save him so you might as well give up," said Milo.

Cuzkaal stared back at Milo, giving him a look that showed his annoyance with him, almost like a big brother who had spent way too much time with his younger brother and was now tired of his presence. Now that Milo knew about his past, Milo was of no importance to him, only his blood was, and he could get that later, Milo was not getting out any time soon.

"You are forgetting something Milo, I am Cuzkaal great shaman of the Amazon, giving up is a foreign word to me. Nothing can stop me and if they are leaving my territory. I can catch up to them before they can even get out of it, for I have Jagul and she can stop anything in their tracks," said Cuzkaal.

Milo only looked up angrily at Cuzkaal, he wished he could pull out the spikes that he had embedded in the soil but remembered how deep he put them in, it would take a while and Cuzkaal would be ready for them. There was nothing he could do; he could only watch Cuzkaal walk away.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have some unfinished business to attend to, enjoy the storm," said Cuzkaal.

Milo watched him go, anger rising inside of him every second, he could not believe he trusted that man for three years. Now he was paying for it as he stood in the pit surrounded by spikes and the sound of the thunderstorm making its way closer to him. He wished he could get out soon, then he would run to his own hut, grab his bow and arrow and ambush Cuzkaal before anything bad could happen to the group. He tried to grip the side of the walls, and once he did that, he tried to lift himself by finding a good holding spot with his feet. Unfortunately the sides were too smooth and Milo ended up slipping back down and only standing there frustrated. But like Cuzkaal he would not give up, he knew he could find a way out somehow, he just had to find it. He hoped he could do it before the storm really brought down its vengeance and he knew he did not have much time to do it, because now the rain was falling around him and lightning illuminated the trees.

* * *

A/N: Alright show of hands, who's tired of this story? *raises hand* but I am not stopping since I am almost done and because I have some friends who won't let me quit, they are nuts but they are friends. I know this story has lost some steam to it and that it is not as great as it once was but that's what happens when you lose interest and want to do something else. But I have a few more chapters to go and I will be done. So try to enjoy them while I think of a new story to write when this one is over. Also please review, I will hopefully update in one week.


	26. Incident at the Bridge

Cuzkaal burst into the hut hoping that he was not too late in stopping the rescue that Shaw had planned to do. But as soon as he entered the worn down room, he realized that he had been beaten. Grumbling under his breath he searched the place hoping to find Jagul and find out how Shaw had gotten away with it.

"Jagul! Show yourself, you better have a good excuse for letting them go," said Cuzkaal.

But Jagul did not show herself, instead Cuzkaal ran right into her, nearly tripping and falling flat on his face. For a moment he was not sure what to make of what had happened until he realized that Shaw had used the stunning maneuver on her. It would work for many days on mortal creatures, sometimes even killing them, but for immortal creatures, it would last only hours. But Cuzkaal did not have time for that and quickly created a reverse maneuver. A few moments later, Jagul stood there stunned and looked up at Cuzkaal worriedly.

"I tried to stop them Cuzkaal, but that Shawlakhaanoytl tricked me, he was a quick one, you taught him well when you had the chance," said Jagul.

"Ah yes I remember how quick he was at certain spells, but we must not let that stop us, we might still have time to catch up to them before they leave the area," said Cuzkaal.

"Of course we can, I am a god aren't I," said Jagul with a satisfied purr.

"But what about me, I know you can get to them quickly, I on the other hand can only sprint and be there as soon as I can," said Cuzkaal.

"Then grab onto my tail and hang on tight," said Jagul as she turned around and brushed her tail from side to side.

Cuzkaal knew what she was going to do, he had done this before with her and it was a very different experience. Knowing that this was going to be a battle sooner or later and hoping that he would win this, he quickly ran over to the wall and grabbed a dagger and bow and arrow set just in case. Finally once he had what he needed, he grabbed Jagul's tail and held on.

* * *

Lightning fell in all directions as the rain began to fall harder near the gorge where Shaw had led the group. It was not the deepest gorge in the world, probably about four stories down, a part of the river ran through it but there was also a bank on both sides. Shaw knew that by crossing this area, they would be able to get back to civilization sooner and that they would be out of Cuzkaal's territory quicker. He had crossed this area many times before when he needed special plants for medicine so he knew it was safe to cross, even in bad weather. Of course that had to take some persuasion with the group. He had tried to bring Alex on this expedition once before so she could help carry what he needed back. She did not cross that time because of her fear of what happened last time. Of course this bridge was a bit different, it hung from a gorge much higher than the other and one that would be a long drop if you did fall. She kept a wide distance from the bridge.

"Alex we have to cross, it's the only way back," said Maggie as she tried to talk her hero into crossing.

"But what about Milo, will he know it's safe to cross as well?" asked Alex.

"I bet he does, and it is safe, you have seen me cross this before," said Shaw as he tried to convince Alex to cross as he stepped onto one of the small rickety pieces. It creaked and groaned but it did not break. Alex stared at it nervously, the boards groaned as the wind pushed them and the rain made them look very slippery. Unsure of what to do, Alex backed up a bit, not watching where she was going until she ran smack into Riley. She turned around and stared at him, he only smiled back before taking her hand and moving her forward.

"How about I help you cross, if one of us falls one of us can hang on and get the others to help pull you to safety. Something you didn't have when you were with Milo," said Riley.

Alex stared back at Riley worriedly; he held her hand and stared back at her with a concerned smile on his face. He was such a nice guy, always willing to help and he hadn't let her down once yet in the past few days. She had to trust him. Nervously she followed him as he led her over to the edge of the bridge. He took one step making the board creak and groan under his weight but he did not back down. Alex on the other hand watched nervously as she tried to move forward, she kept stopping as the bridge began to sway from the storm that was about to come at them at full force.

"It's okay Alex, it's a bit slippery but if you don't look down you'll be alright," said Riley.

Alex gulped nervously and finally stepped down onto the first board on the bridge. For a long moment she stood there as if waiting for something to happen, but nothing did, the board was very secure. Alex looked back at Riley for a moment, her face full of shock and wonder while Riley only smiled back encouraging her to keep going. It wasn't long before Alex finally had the courage to move forward again before laughing happily at overcoming her fear. In fact she was so happy that Riley had helped her, she leapt forward and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you Riley, I can cross shallow rivers, but not these bridges, thanks to you though, I finally can," she said with a smile.

"Glad to have helped," said Riley as he tried to get her to let go of him.

Alex quickly got the message and sheepishly let go before turning back to the rest of the group who were waiting patiently on the edge of the bridge. Maggie and Celia both looked anxious to get out of there, and even Homer, Jeremy and Bart were too. But none of them looked more worried about crossing to the other side than Shaw. He kept looking behind him, dagger at the ready, not that it would do him any good but he felt safe holding it. Finally Riley told Alex to hold out her hand so Celia and Maggie could cross with them, followed by Jeremy and Bart and then Homer, Shaw took up the rear.

Everything seemed to be going smoothly; the journey seemed to be at an end until lightning struck a nearby tree and thunder cracked out loudly around them. It was such a supernatural sound this time and everyone ducked in fear wondering where that lightning even struck. But the wonder soon changed to horror when all of them heard an angry growl call out through the jungle.

"What in the world was that?" asked Homer. He was shaking as he held onto the rope that held the bridge up.

"Jagul," Shaw said quietly as he turned around and looked to where they had come from.

There was a long moment of silence as Shaw stood there waiting to see what was happening. Riley began to wonder if he should keep moving, hoping that once they crossed they would be safe. And he was about to nudge Alex forward with him when he heard surprised grunt from Homer. He looked toward his friend, and there next to Homer's foot was an arrow. Cuzkaal was somewhere close.

"Can we please keep moving," Homer said nervously as he stared down at the arrow that was lodged deep in the wooden board.

"Yeah, go now!" said Shaw.

"Don't even think about it!" a voice suddenly boomed through the storm. This time everyone was shaking on the bridge as they looked around to see where it came from.

It wasn't long before Jagul appeared; she appeared out of the darkness in front of the other side of the bridge, their only way off to get away from Cuzkaal. Her claws were unsheathed and she crouched low, almost as if she was ready to pounce and attack at any moment. Her eyes shone with intensity and they could hear a low growl emanate in her chest. No one wanted to try and cross her.

"Either Homer comes back to me or you all perish," said Cuzkaal as he stood by the edge of the bridge.

Homer looked at everyone around him, he knew he was needed by Cuzkaal but he did not realize how much Cuzkaal would go to get at him. He had finally found Maggie again, he had wanted to get to know her better as soon as he got home and he wanted to have a heart to heart talk with all three of his kids. Now it seemed that this was out of the question, there was no way he could do any of the things he wanted to do.

"To show I am not bluffing, Jagul show them what you can do," said Cuzkaal.

Everyone stared at Jagul as she made her way closer to the edge of the bridge. She stopped at the first board and stared back at everyone, smiling menacingly. Everyone waited on baited breath to find out what she would do. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Jagul reared up on her hind legs before letting out a roar that was loud enough to cause the whole bridge to shake. She then pounced hard on the first board, breaking it in half.

"Unless you comply, this entire bridge will fall apart and there is no way out," said Cuzkaal.

"Dad!" Maggie cried out in a scared voice.

"I know Maggie I'm scared too," said Homer.

"Are you really going to let Cuzkaal take you?" she asked tears starting to form in her eyes.

Homer turned to Shaw, hoping for a positive answer; Shaw only stared back before letting out a pained sigh.

"There's got to be a way out of this, for my family, please you have to do something," said Homer.

"I wish I could Homer, but he is too powerful, and I hate to say this but if you want to protect your family, sacrifices must be made," said Shaw.

Homer stared back at Shaw, tears now falling from his face, Bart and Maggie were here now and he could say goodbye to them but what about Marge and Lisa? His loving wife of twenty-one years would never have a chance to say goodbye to him, all because of some horrible shaman wanting to return to his former glory. It was breaking his heart, he wanted Marge there, he wanted to be home, he wanted all of this to be over with and that it would only become a funny memory.

Homer turned to Maggie and Bart who were standing there waiting for him to make the decision, they had a pained look in their eyes and he knew that they did not want it to end this way either. They were so young, they had years ahead of them, Maggie would grow up to become someone great someday. Bart would probably become one of the greatest comic book store owners in Springfield, heck he could even do something better. He did not want to see their lives shortened by this. They were his children, ones that could be killed in the hands of Cuzkaal, just like the children that were killed eight years ago by him. A horrible death that would make any parent want to kill the person for his evil deeds. Homer was no exception; Cuzkaal would kill without remorse, without pity, and without shame, all just to bring back his favorite apprentice.

Homer could not believe that anyone could be that selfish, he could not believe anyone was still alive to continue his life like this, no one in the old tribe had even tried to kill him in eight years. Now he was the one suffering for it, the one who would bring back a useless apprentice who would most likely return to be just like his teacher, to kill without remorse and to be filled with the blood of children from eight years ago. Now if he said no to sacrificing himself, his children would die at the paws of some horrible jaguar god, Cuzkaal would get what he wanted and no one would stop him. He could not let that happen, he wanted his children to live. He wanted them to grow up and become something great. He was now middle aged, past his prime, past his glory days. Just the thought of them perishing in the paws of some horrible jaguar god made him angry. He wanted defeat Cuzkaal, to stop him from continuing his legacy. He knew a shaman could not kill another shaman, but what about a mortal killing a shaman.

"You said a shaman could not kill another shaman, but what about me?" Homer asked quietly to Shaw making sure Jagul was not listening.

"It has happened before, but it's very risky, you have to be quick about it," said Shaw in a whisper as well.

"Then I want to try, for you guys. If I can't, I die and Cuzkaal gets what he wants and everyone leaves happily… except for Maggie and Bart, but hey at least they survived and lived to tell the tale to my wife. I can try to stop all this but I can't make any promises," said Homer.

"Then take this, but just in case I would say goodbye to your son and daughter first," said Shaw as he swiftly handed Homer his dagger.

Homer turned to both Bart and Maggie; both had been standing there in shock at his words. He was willing to sacrifice his life just for them, and maybe even for the whole jungle. They had no idea what he had planned but they were going to witness it and cheer their father on, even if it was hopeless. Maggie of course could not believe that her father would do this, but then she remembered the talk he gave her in the tree house, how he would do anything for her, he was being true to his word. Finally Maggie ran forward her hugged her father tightly, tears streaming down her face, worried that her father would never be by her side again.

"Dad, please don't leave me, you can do it, I know you can," said Maggie.

"For you Maggie I will, I promise I will come back to you, but if I don't…t-tell your mother that I l-love her," Homer sobbed as he tried to hold back the tears.

"And me too right," Bart called out as he came forward to hug his dad as well.

"Of course son, I still need to talk to you once this is over," said Homer as he embraced his son for the first time since they finally found him.

"And I will listen to every word you say," said Bart as the tears fell down his face mixing with the rain.

Homer could not take it anymore, just seeing his children like this upset him deeply, he had to get this done before he had a change of heart and wanted to run for it with his kids in tow. No, he had to be brave for their sake. Finally he pushed himself away from Bart and Maggie and made his way off the bridge.

As he did so, he gripped the dagger tightly on his side, keeping it well hidden until the right moment to strike the evil shaman who was waiting for him just a few feet from the bridge. Cuzkaal stood there, satisfaction gleaming in his eyes over the fact that he had won his chance to keep Homer and finish what he started, even if it meant doing it all over again. Jagul was still standing on the other side of the bridge, watching him intently, making sure that he did not try to run; she was prepared to go after him if he did. As he walked over though, she noticed something strange about the way he walked, his one arm stayed on his hip as if he was holding onto something.

She began to notice that his strides were moving quicker and he had the look of anxiousness on his face, not something Homer would show in his moment of defeat. No, something was up and Jagul knew she had to warn Cuzkaal of the approaching danger. It was when Homer was almost on top of Cuzkaal that Jagul cried out.

"Cuzkaal, he has a weapon!"

Homer heard Jagul, and in a moment of panic, he pulled out the dagger and ran as fast as he could toward the shaman, aiming the dagger at Cuzkaal's heart. Cuzkaal heard what Jagul had said though and was prepared for just such an emergency. Homer was almost upon him, ready to strike, but Cuzkaal was quicker and before Homer even knew what hit him, Cuzkaal dug his dagger deep into Homer's side. Homer stopped and stood in front of Cuzkaal, eyes wide from shock. He tried to fight back by thrusting his dagger forward but the pain was too great and the dagger fell at his feet. Cuzkaal only smiled menacingly before he pulled the dagger out and Homer fell to his knees, clutching his side.

From the bridge, everyone saw it happen and Maggie let out a scream. She tried to run forward and help her father but Shaw pulled her back. Maggie stilled tried to keep going though as she kicked and screamed with all her might.

"It won't help Maggie, he'll kill you too," said Shaw.

"But my Dad!" Maggie cried.

"He tried, like he said he would, now we need to leave," said Shaw as he tried to pull Maggie away and get off the bridge. Instead though Jagul let out a roar, making everyone stop in their tracks.

"You think you all can trick me! You tried it twice already, and twice you have failed, don't even try to do it a third time because I will be waiting for it. And because of your foolishness, you all must pay, Jagul, finish them!" Cuzkaal cried.

Jagul let out a menacing roar toward them causing the entire bridge to sway. Everyone held on for dear life, wishing with all their hearts that they could do something. Jagul reared up on her hind legs again, letting out a deafening roar before hitting the boards once more, this time breaking three of them in the process.

At Cuzkaal's feet, Homer could hear everyone screaming and he knew that Cuzkaal did not go on his word; he was going to kill everyone, not just him, just so he could get back his apprentice. Homer knew he had to fight back, he was the only one who could, but he also knew he had to be quick about it. Ignoring his injury and with his adrenaline pumping, he lifted himself up and ran forward, dagger at the ready. Cuzkaal's back was turned and he did not even have a chance to turn around and stop Homer from attacking him. He was still laughing menacingly until Homer drew the dagger into his back, right between the shoulder blades. Cuzkaal let out a gasp and turned around to face Homer. Homer backed away still holding the bloody dagger while Cuzkaal stared back at him, eyes blazing with anger.

"I'm not giving up Cuzkaal, just like you won't!" Homer said with great intensity.

Before Cuzkaal could even reply, Homer ran forward once again, ready to finish the shaman off. Cuzkaal was at the ready, also holding his dagger, only this time he used a different kind of weapon.

"Jagul!" He yelled out.

The next moment, the group on the bridge saw a number of things happen in less than a minute. First was Jagul, she ran toward the group, making everyone duck in fear of being attacked by her. Instead though she leapt over all of them and made her way off the bridge toward Homer and Cuzkaal who were both trying to hold each other off. Jagul stood behind them for a moment watching both of them intently and realizing that even though Homer was badly wounded, he still had the upper hand. Jagul knew that Cuzkaal needed help and she also knew that he was not going to get out of this fight easily. She knew she had to do something drastic, there was another way to help Cuzkaal, and she was going to try it. Finally she stood straight on all four legs and let out the loudest and heaviest roar anyone had ever heard. It shook the bridge, but not enough to do damage like it was about to do to the ledge that both Homer and Cuzkaal were on. Moments later the ledge crumbled and before Homer or Cuzkaal could even find a better footing, both tumbled over the edge. Maggie let out a scream while Shaw stared at Jagul who looked back at him for just a moment. Then before Shaw could move forward and find out what was going on:

Jagul vanished.

* * *

A/N: Yeah I think some of this is kind of sappy but hey I finished this in less than a week, I actually finished it on Thursday but I did some tweaking to hopefully make it better and leave you all with a lieral cliffhanger. It might be a little rushed but man did I have fun writing it, lots of action and stuff. I have four more chapters to go after this and if the last four are like how I did this one, hopefully this story will be finally completed. So keep your eyes peeled for updates that are earlier than one week. Please review when you can.


	27. Milo's luck, Homer's Battle

The rain was beginning to die down where Milo was busy digging through one of the spikes to take it out of the ground and use it at a step stool to get out of the pit. It was a hard job now that the rain had covered the entire floor in mud which would quickly melt back to its original position. He had already succeeded once with one of the spikes, which was now buried on the side of the wall of the pit. He knew he needed at least two more to help him out, he just hoped he could do them fast enough and help his friends. He knew Cuzkaal had caught up with them now, he just hoped that they found a way to get rid of him and that his life would finally go back to the way it had been before he lost Alex.

Just thinking about Alex now made Milo worry, what if Cuzkaal tried to kill her, then he would really lose her this time. He had finally found her again and wanted to catch up on old memories together, maybe even go back to the documentary business. That would be wonderful, he could even teach people survival skills from being out here, but first he really needed to get out of this pit and fast. Again he dug around the spike, moving as much earth as he could while the rain that was still falling continued to soak the ground around him. He was glad it was a quick storm, probably only a small band came to this area; other parts of the Amazon were probably getting soaked. If that happened where he was, he would probably be ankle deep in water by now; instead he was ankle deep in mud.

But that did not stop him from figuring his way out of the problem at hand, and in no time, Milo was able to pull the spike out and carry it over to the wall where he carefully pushed it into the soft earth. He knew he had to be careful putting it in, even though the wall was very smooth, he knew that some parts would be very eroded and moist. He did not want his spike to be buried underneath a ton of dirt, unless the dirt caused a slope where he could easily get out. But of course with his luck, that would not happen.

After a few moments of negotiating the spike into place, he quickly went to work on the next one knowing that this was the last one he needed to get out and find his way back to everyone. He began to dig, this time more rushed since he knew he was closer to accomplishing his goal. In a few moments time, the spike was out and he was just about to pick it up and bring it over to the wall when lightning struck. Normally Milo would have ignored it but this time it was followed by a much louder thunderclap and then the sound of someone whimpering. At first Milo wondered if his mind was playing tricks on him and stood still waiting to hear if he really did hear someone.

There was a long pause before another thunderclap raked the air. Milo waited and then he heard it again. Milo quickly ran and jumped on the first spike and then the second, still too low to see what was in front of him, but he still called out.

"Is someone out there?" he called.

For a few seconds there was nothing but silence, perhaps he was only hearing things, maybe the wind was acting up making it sound like someone was out there whimpering. But of course no one else could be out there, everyone who was searching for Homer was now running for their lives to get to the other side of the gorge and toward civilization. Everyone else was at the nearest village waiting hopefully for news. Milo then decided to shrug it off and climbed back down to get the last spike.

"Hello?" a nervous voice called.

Milo stopped dead in his tracks, that could not have been the wind, unless Cuzkaal was tricking him still. Milo climbed back on the second spike and called out again.

"Hello?" he asked as loudly as he could.

"Hello?" the other voice called out again, still just as nervous sounding.

"Who's out there?" Milo called.

"Uh…" there was a very long pause, almost like the voice was too afraid to even reveal himself just in case there was an ambush.

"Don't be afraid, you're among a friend if you are willing to help me out of this pit," said Milo.

The voice did not respond back, instead Milo could hear the voice move around through the bushes as if he was trying to find the pit that Milo was talking about. Of course Milo fell into it and he hoped that the same thing would not happen to the stranger who he still did not know the name of.

"I would be careful if I were you, I stumbled in here while trying to get someone else in here, I hid it well," said Milo.

"Oh no worries I think I found it," said the voice, Milo instantly realized that this person was not from around here, not even from America, his voice sounded Australian. It wasn't long before a face appeared at the edge of the pit, a man in his late thirties wearing a well worn, well known Australian cowboy hat Akubra. He looked exhausted as if he had been lost for some time, yet when he saw Milo his eyes instantly lit up.

"Looks like you're in a bit of a sticky wicket," said the Australian.

"I am, and I need out of here fast so I can help my friends," said Milo.

"Friends? You mean there are more people out here other than the two missing girls?" asked the Australian.

"Actually I was watching the two girls, I just got separated a little after they found them," said Milo.

"Oh well by crikey that was nice of you mate! Do you know where they went because I got separated from them too after a jaguar scared me off," said the Australian.

"Yes, they went in that direction and I would help you get there if you help me out of this pit," said Milo.

"Aww nothing doing mate, I would be happy to oblige," said the Australian. "By the way, me names Brock Turnbull though everyone calls me Bull because I'm so tough, what's your name?"

Milo stared at Brock for a moment; people thought he was tough huh? Well with the way he had been whimpering it did not sound that way at all. Of course Milo kept his mouth shut about that and decided to introduce himself. "Milo."

"Milo eh, there was a famous documentary kid out here with Alex Steele three years ago who went by that name, a shame really for a smart bloke like him to do away with himself like that, he could have had real potential, you know. Just a shame," said Brock as he reached down and grabbed Milo's arm.

Milo stared back at Brock as he lifted himself out of the pit, should he? Or should he not? Brock seemed like a nice guy, but looked like he would be the kind who would go nuts once he realized who you were. Really there was no time to for that; he had to catch up to the rest of the group, but then again he could be stern about how the Australian could handle it.

"But I am Milo Sanchez," said Milo as he wiped his tattered pants of the mud that was now caked on them.

"Naw, you couldn't be him, he had short hair, no goatee and wore an American baseball hat, I think it was the Dodgers, or was it the Padres," Brock responded as he scratched his chin.

"It was the Mariners and I lost that hat after trying to save Alex," said Milo.

"No I swear it was the Dodgers," said Brock.

"Would Milo Sanchez be a fan of a Los Angles team if he lived in Seattle?" asked Milo.

Brock thought this over for a moment, a look of heavy contemplation on his head before finally responding. "…Good point."

"Now how about we argue more about this as we meet up with the group," said Milo as he pried the spear he had thrown at Cuzkaal out of the tree.

"Sounds good to me mate," said Brock.

Milo then began to move forward with Brock in tow who looked relieved that he found someone to help him head back to civilization, being lost throughout the night scared him, he liked it better out on the river. Milo of course could sense this with how close he was walking beside him as they went through the jungle, for someone who was called Bull, he sure acted chicken. It must have been a ruse; he would have to ask people who knew him if it really meant that he was tough or a less than flattering nickname entirely.

"And I know one thing else about Milo Sanchez," said Brock taking Milo out of his thoughts.

"Oh really, what's that?" asked Milo.

"He didn't walk with a limp," said Brock.

"Well you know it can be very hard living out here, get into a few scrapes while finding food or just not watching where you are going, or even falling through a plank while trying to rescue my best friend. Oh yeah and since you mentioned it, my hair would have gotten longer since there are no barber shops around here especially for my goatee," said Milo as he brushed it with his fingers. He actually liked growing it out, he felt tough with it and not like a kid who was lost in the woods.

"True mate, but Milo would have figured that out," said Brock.

"Sure mate whatever you say," Milo replied in a mocking voice.

Brock said nothing, realizing that Milo did not seem to like being bothered about it, even though he still did not believe it. Maybe later when the lighting was better and he was beside Alex, that would get Brock to notice. They just had to get to them first, just as long as nothing stopped them, Milo knew where to go and he had a weapon if he needed it. He just hoped he was not too late, he wanted to help get rid of Cuzkaal. He thought about how he would destroy the shaman, thinking up ways of dismembering him like he did with tapirs or just skewering him up against a tree. It was morbid but it helped him move faster through the jungle, and it was better than talking, until Brock had to end all the silence.

"…Do you have any vegemite on you, I'm starving."

* * *

At first there was an empty void, nothing but darkness, no pain, no sound, nothing. Just the feeling of not being where one belonged. No dreams, no light, no voices calling to him, only the unknown. Was this what death was like? No one there telling you that you were dead? No pearly gates? No more light at the end of the tunnel? No God? Perhaps it was the calm before it all began, before death finally took over.

He waited, waited for the moment to finally come, waited for his end where there were no goodbyes, only the knowing that life was at an end. Waiting, searching for the light.

But none of that came, and in moments Homer could feel pain again and this time it was excruciating. Everything hurt, his head hurt, his chest hurt, his shoulder hurt, his legs hurt. To make matters worse, he knew he was not on dry land, he could feel his lungs expand as water built up inside him. He had to open his eyes, had to find the top of the water to get his precious oxygen. He fought hard until finally he could no longer see darkness but the color of the brown muddy river mixed with red. He had no idea which way was up now, the water was too brown from the sediment that was moving through the river. He knew he had to find it though, he wanted to live, he wanted to get out of this alive. Finally he found it, the ray of light that beckoned him to the life he knew.

He made it! Gasping for air, taking it all in as much as he could, even if it felt like thousands of needles were stabbing him in the chest, he did not care; it felt so much better than being drowned. But why was he here? Why was he in so much pain? How did this happen? His memories slowly came back to him; he had been running, running from someone who wanted his heart and soul, Cuzkaal. He remembered the fight, those tense few moments that sent them both over the edge thanks to Jagul. He remembered Maggie calling to him, he remembered his friends cheering him on. Where were they now? Were they still up there wondering if he made it? Would they go on without him knowing that he most likely did not survive? He did fall with quite a few heavy rocks next to him. He knew that one in particular caused him to black out, that explained the pain in his head.

He then remembered Cuzkaal, where was that bastard? He hoped he was somewhere down below where he belonged. He could be further downriver, hopefully gone for good and hopefully out of everyone's misery. He had done the Amazon a favor finishing off the horrible shaman but now he was going to pay for it.

Homer held onto a rock, he felt his energy slipping away after coming up for air, his adrenaline no longer pumping and his body finally revealing how much pain he was in. One of his arms hung loosely next to him, most likely disconnected somehow. His chest ached with every breath he took, he had no idea if that meant he had broken ribs or if he had a collapsed lung, whatever the case, it was now getting more difficult to breathe again and he felt more drowsy. His right leg hurt too, and he could feel the sting from the stab wound on his side. There was another gash on his shoulder and it made him wonder if it was from fighting Cuzkaal or if it was caused by falling rock, it really didn't matter though, it just hurt like hell. His head hurt terribly too and it made him want to rest. He knew though that he had to get to the bank, he knew that he could rest there and that the group would find him eventually.

For many moments he clung weakly to the rock, thinking about moving forward but too afraid to try, knowing that his body was not up to the challenge. He had been through so much today and it was now taking a toll on him. He just wanted all of this to end; he wanted to be by his wife's side in a safe place. He began to think of home, sitting on the couch watching the fire during the first snowfall. He wanted to spend an evening with the rest of the family watching a good movie and remembering the good old days. He just wanted to be home where nothing hurt and life was good.

He was so glad Maggie was alright, that she had been brave enough to keep her and Celia out of harm's way. Of course Milo did help and they probably would not have survived without him. Of course Cuzkaal was with them, how they managed to survive with him was a mystery to Homer even though Cuzkaal wanted him more than the kids. But he did what he had promised Maggie months ago, if they were in danger he would give up his life to save them. But Cuzkaal was gone now and he was alive, he was willing to see his family again, to hear their praise that he had saved both Maggie and Bart's life, that he was the father they all knew and loved and that he was a brave hero.

But still he clung on the rock, wanting to move but finding no energy to do so. But then he heard a voice, someone was calling his name. Homer opened his eyes and looked toward the bank, he saw a familiar figure standing there waving at him. It was Shaw and he looked like he wanted Homer to come to him. Homer stared back wondering if Shaw had a rope or something to drag him back to shore. He probably did but he was still too far away to reach him. Homer knew he had to let go of the rock and move forward, he had to make it to land so that he could see his wife again or his wife would see him again. He wanted to say goodbye to his children if he could, he wanted to get this over with. He knew though that he could not move forward without trying and to get what he wanted he had to do it.

Finally he let go of the rock and tried to push himself toward the bank, but the water was so much stronger than him and every move he made was so painful. To make matters worse, his one dislocated shoulder would not let him move his arm and he had to rely on his other one just to keep going. But that arm was now working overtime for him and even that arm was beginning to hurt. His legs were starting to give in as well and as he moved closer to the bank he could feel his body wanting to stop and shut down. But no he could not let it, he had to keep fighting.

He stopped at a rock that was closer to shore, he needed to rest, he needed to let his body heal for another minute. He needed to breathe normally again, but this time he could hear how ragged his breathing was and it was not calming down like it had done on the other rock. He had been fighting too much and now he needed help to get himself out of the water. He sensed that this was as far as he could go, if he let go now, he would try to fight, but then his body would not take it and he would again fall into the darkness of unconsciousness.

He could hear Shaw call out again and he lifted his head to see the shaman urging him forward, but Homer quickly shook his head, there was no way he could try again unless someone helped him. He put his head down on the rock and shut his eyes, waiting for someone to help him, waiting for something to happen. For many moments there was nothing but agony as he hung on and he did not even hear Shaw make his way forward until he was right next to him nudging him on.

Homer looked up at the shaman who was looking down at him, a concerned look in his eyes. Homer stared back before letting out a heavy and ragged sigh, Shaw pulled out his hand and Homer weakly grabbed it with his good arm. Then with all of Shaw's might, he lifted Homer up and helped him back to shore. Now that Homer was standing next to the shaman, he could see how much closer he had been to the shore, he could have fought this if he had to, it was only about thirty feet away and it would have been easy if he was able to do it. It was just too much.

Then Homer could feel his legs buckle underneath him as Shaw tried to help him along. That's when Homer realized that things were taking a turn for the worst. He could feel his heart beating faster, he began to feel more exhausted and his head felt as if it was swimming around his body. Shaw somehow sensed this and stopped just inches from the shore. Homer looked back at him, he was saying words but all he could hear was gibberish and Homer could only respond with a low whine.

Shaw tried to nudge him forward some more and Homer tried his best but his body did not want to move. Homer stared at Shaw who looked back at him with concern in his eyes. After a while though, his face became a blur and the world around him felt as if it was spinning. It was worse than any hangover he had ever had, Homer tried to shake it off, tried to join Shaw on the bank where he would tend to his injuries. Instead Homer felt himself fall forward while his world went black.

* * *

A/N: Now this was a rare moment for me, six pages of descriptions, and boy did I enjoy that even though it probably got a bit boring near the end. It was actually kind of fun even though what is going on is not very fun at all. So as you can see Homer is not out of the woods yet and you will see what happens to him in the next chapter, there are still some matters to be dealt with. So yeah please review when you can let me know what you thought about all that and see if you can make any interesting predictions, those are always so much fun to read. Well hope to see you all in a few days.


	28. A Proposition

Once again, Homer felt himself in the empty void, covered in darkness, the pain was gone again and he felt like he was floating into nothingness. It was a very strange feeling, he could not see anything, he had no idea if he was moving up or down and he had no idea if he was finally dead or not. But if this was what death was like then he guessed it wasn't too bad, hopefully he would not spend eternity this way, after a long time it would probably get extremely boring. Would light ever come back into his world?

If this was what death was like, then why had so many people talked about the Pearly Gates and heavenly clouds? What about Saint Peter waiting for you at the Pearly Gates? And where were the halos? This was very odd and confusing to Homer, he wished he knew more about what was going on and if he was really dying or not. He wanted to know if Cuzkaal survived because if he did then he would try to find him again and use what was left of him as ingredients for plans, or at least that was what Homer thought. But what if Cuzkaal didn't survive, where would he go and would Homer meet up with him in heaven? Could he beat someone up in heaven? Homer had no idea but hoped that Cuzkaal would never show his face anywhere in that jungle again. He had done too much and it was time for his reign of terror to be over with.

Homer continued to float there, thinking about what was going to happen and if his family could move on without him. He knew Marge would have a hard time, they had been through so much together and now he did not have a chance to say goodbye. He really wished he could, he just wanted to see her one last time, the kids too, he wanted to tell them something important but now it was too late for that and he would now have to watch over them from the sidelines.

Homer let out a heavy sigh, it was very upsetting to think about and tried to move on to something else, of course that was a little hard when you were suspended into nothingness. But that was until Homer realized something; he was starting to see shapes. For a few moments he adjusted his eyes as he tried to figure out where he was now. Before long he realized that he was not in suspended animation but lying on the ground and around him were the silhouettes of trees. There was a bit of light around them but not very bright at all, almost like the feeling of standing in a lonely forest at dusk with no flashlight for the upcoming darkness.

Homer quickly got to his feet and looked around him, the trees slowly swayed with a small breeze that went through the forest, but that was the only sound he heard, no animals or other things showed themselves in the strange place that Homer was now standing in. He turned around to see what might be behind him, and found that there was a trail that led to the end of the trees many feet away, that area was bright and inviting and made Homer wonder if he should go that way. He turned the other way to see if the other direction of the trail lead anywhere, but all he could see was darkness and he was unsure what would happen if he followed that.

For a few seconds, Homer stood there thinking about what to do, apparently this was the place that led you to where you needed to go. The place where you would spend eternity in happiness. But Homer was not sure that he wanted to go there, not yet any way, and he wondered if he could brave the dark trail that led to some other place, but would it lead home or to a place where he would not want to go in a million years?

Homer continued to think until he saw a shape make its way toward him in the lighted part of the path. Homer adjusted his eyes again to see what creature this was. it wasn't long before he realized that it was a cat. It wasn't an ordinary house cat either; this was a large wild cat just like the jaguar in the Amazon. Homer knew though that it was best not to run because it wasn't long before he recognized the face, it was Jagul and she was slowly making her way toward him, almost nonchalantly. Homer stayed where he was until Jagul was in front of him, her eyes staring straight up at him as if studying him. Homer waited for her to say something for he knew that she could get angry if he did anything wrong.

"We have a proposition for you…follow me," she finally replied as she turned around and started walking down the trail.

Homer stood there for a moment, who was this 'we' she was talking about? Was it Cuzkaal? He must be here too, close to death like him, but since Jagul was also here, something must be happening to keep him from dying too soon, and Cuzkaal needed him for it. Great, most likely another way to get back into power. Whatever the reason though, Homer knew he had to follow Jagul and was soon walking beside her in the lone dark woods.

As he did so, he would often look down and stare at her. He was never much of a cat person, more of a dog person and never really cared for Lisa's cats that she owned. She always took care of them any way and they always kept to themselves when he was around. But for some reason he found Jagul to be quite fascinating. Her broad shoulders moved up and down as she walked and the spots on her fur seemed to go along with the rhythm of her movements. Her ears would move back and forth as if she was searching for sound, and her paws stepped lightly on the earth making no noise whatsoever. For such a dangerous animal, she truly was a magnificent sight, a sight that had to be approached with great caution and great respect, especially one that was a god.

At first, Homer thought that Jagul was bringing him to where the light began, instead though she took a turn in another direction, leading him through another trail that was just as dark but somehow inviting. Homer did not feel nervous about this trail at all, it felt almost welcome to him, until he saw the form of Cuzkaal standing in the middle of it once he got further in.

Cuzkaal was standing there waiting, his eyes never leaving Homer's sight. He looked to be studying him as if looking for a new ingredient to create to help him achieve his goal. Homer only glared back at him, waiting for him to say something. He did not want to greet the one who nearly killed his friends in a friendly manner.

"You are probably wondering where you are," Cuzkaal said calmly.

"Sort of, yes," Homer said with annoyance in his voice.

"You are between life and death, heaven and hell, the place where souls go to decide if they should continue their life or pass on into eternity," said Cuzkaal.

"Davenport, Iowa?" Homer asked, eyebrow raised to show confusion.

"…What in the world is in that brain of yours? No Homer I am talking about Limbo," said Cuzkaal.

"Oh yeah that place, I never knew it was real," said Homer.

"As you can see it's very real and we are both stuck in it until a decision is made," Cuzkaal replied as he stroked Jagul between the ears.

"What kind of decision?" Homer asked sounding somewhat curious.

Cuzkaal looked down at Jagul as if he was making sure he was permitted to answer Homer's question. Jagul gave a quick nod as she let Cuzkaal explain what she had come up with while both were fighting for their lives above the river.

"Jagul told me that I can get my life and my apprentice Bahzuul back, but will require your decision making to do so," Cuzkaal began.

"Oh? And will I have to give away any body parts, or my soul?" asked Homer.

"None of that will be an issue because you will also live," Cuzkaal said.

"Oh, well perhaps this should not be too hard then, what do I have to do?" asked Homer who now sounded intrigued by the idea.

"My proposition is this, Jagul here can change the past for us, she can go back into the past and change what has happened to Bahzuul by not letting it happen. I stay in the village and I become a great shaman once again, Bahzuul will be my successor and things will be all fine and dandy. But this cannot be done unless you also alter your past."

"Alter my past? How?"

"Jagul has shown me how you fell in love with Marge, you tried to bring her to a dance but instead she went out with another man while you went alone, but she learned her mistake and picked you up from the side of the road as you walked home alone. Now I know ever since then you have been with Marge, going through some rough patches and often your alone time was broken up by your children. You weren't even going to marry her were you? But then you conceived a son, a child who changed your life dramatically. A lot plans were changed because of that, weren't they? I know you've had dreams Homer, dreams of another life where you had adventures, and you would have had them too if you did not go to that special place one night and changed your life. You could have traveled the world with your friends; you could have lived the great life of a bachelor who would have loved every minute of your life. Marge would be in the past by now and living a different life without you. So my proposition is this, you agree to change the past and we both get what we always wanted; freedom! Power! The feeling of no regret! We would live again and this whole mess would be behind us. What do you say?"

Homer stared at Cuzkaal for a moment; he now had his hand out, ready to shake on it, beside him stood Jagul, waiting for the response with great anticipation in her face. Her ears were pricked up, her eyes wide suspense and wonder. For a moment, Homer rubbed his hand nervously not sure what to do, he already felt pressured. It sounded too good to be true, but also sounded terrible.

"Can you give me a moment to think this over?" Homer asked after a few moments of hesitation.

"Go ahead, but do not take eternity, you don't have that much time," said Jagul.

Homer sighed and walked away from them for a moment. He found a small boulder to sit on and contemplated the idea. Changing the past? It sounded wonderful! He would live a life with no kids, no regrets, and perhaps even keep the weight he had after he got out of high school. He missed being skinny, he never had to worry about weight problems or any side effects to it. It would be great for him, he knew that and it felt like a great idea but then he had to remember his family.

What would Marge do if they never fell in love? Would she have stayed with Artie Ziff, the man who went to Prom with her? He knew he would be broken hearted for a long time without Marge, he loved her from the beginning and he was so upset when Marge left for the evening with him but was so happy when she picked him up from the side of the road. He never left her side since and was always so happy to be with her. But what if she did pick Artie as her love? What would have happened to her then? Would the marriage even last, he remembered how much of a player Artie was and it made him wonder if Artie would even be faithful to her.

He couldn't do that to Marge, she deserved him, that had been planned for both of them since they were born. They were meant for each other, no one else, not even Artie Ziff. And what of the kids? They would not even exist if Homer never fell in love with Marge, they would only be a shadow of things that should have been, almost like in a Christmas Carol or Back to the Future. A life of bachelorhood did sound great, but then again so did the idea of growing old with Marge, watching the kids grow up, well Maggie now any way, and simply shrugging off the regrets he had made over the years. What would he have done if he didn't marry Marge? Would he have fun or would that regret that one for years? One he could not shrug off but wish with all his heart for her to be in his arms.

Homer knew what he wanted now and he was ready to tell Jagul what his option was. He had been staring at the ground when he had done so, so he had not seen Jagul make her way toward him until he looked up and saw her sitting in front of him eyes lowered and her tail twitching with anticipation.

"Have you made your decision?" asked Jagul.

I have," replied Homer.

"Then what is your decision?" asked Jagul as she led Homer back toward Cuzkaal who was waiting patiently.

"It's a great offer and quite intriguing, but I would rather stay where I am," said Homer.

Cuzkaal, who had been waiting since Homer first walked up, went from a smile to a frown in nothing flat. He had been so confident that Homer would say yes to this that he was not expecting Homer to say no. He did not like this one bit either.

"He can't do that, you promised me the proposition would be too good to be true!" Cuzkaal cried out.

"I did, but apparently Homer is a better thinker than we expected," Jagul replied.

Cuzkaal glared at her and then back at Homer who stared back with the look of bewilderment but also a great calm on his face. But it was his decision and his alone. "Sorry Cuzzy, but there is one thing you can never change for me and that is the love of my family. Sure they are whiney, annoying, and hell raisers but you learn to accept that, it's human nature to do all those things, and even though you are mad at first and want to murder them for what they did to you. You still love them either way; they are a part of you. They put a special place in your heart, and you can never stay mad at them forever."

"I've often wondered if I would be better off without Marge, and you know what, the answer is no. In fact she is my life force, my heart and soul, the one who makes me feel like life is worth living. She was meant for me and she will always be the one for me no matter what. And if you tried to take her away from me and used her as one of your horrible ingredients, then I would have fought back with a vengeance to get her back. I would fight to the death to keep her at my side. And if I ever wanted to restart my life, it would be to do it all over again with her, not by myself, but always with her no matter what and of course the kids too, hell I would even go on this adventure with Maggie again as long as you stayed out of the way. And you know why that is Cuzzy?"

"Oh please explain," Cuzkaal said as he rolled his eyes.

"Because I love them and you can never change love. A stupid neighbor once told me that love is patient and kind and that it never ends, and he was right because I have experienced all those things and they were all worth it. It's a wonderful feeling; you should look into it sometime."

Homer stared back at Cuzkaal, a smug look on his face, Cuzkaal stood there, a look of pure annoyance on his face, he could not do anything to harm Homer, only try to negotiate his way back into life. He turned to Jagul who seemed to notice Cuzkaal's outrage but remained calm.

"We don't have time for this! Can't you just make him?" asked Cuzkaal.

"I cannot, it's his own choice and his alone, you cannot force him to change that," Jagul growled.

"But…But you promised me it would work and my life would be great again," said Cuzkaal, who's voice was rising every minute, not of anger though but of fear.

"When did I promise you that?" asked Jagul almost with laughter in her voice now that Cuzkaal was sounding like an angry child wanting his way.

"When we met up in here, you said Homer is also close to death and you said to make sure I lived, Homer would be willing to change the future," said Cuzkaal.

"Well apparently he does not want to and I did not promise, I just said it might work, not everything goes according to plan Cuzkaal, even for the gods," said Jagul.

"Then is there another way?" asked Cuzkaal who was now sounding very desperate. He had been working so hard to get what he wanted, but now had lost his ability to do so.

"I'm afraid there isn't, after what you went through in the river; I doubt anyone can survive that. No Cuzkaal, I think your life is complete, sorry it didn't work out the way you wanted, life can be that way. Oh and for the record, Shawlakhaanoytl was always meant to be your successor, and Homer was right, the life force you needed was not Homer's but Marge, you misunderstood me, but that is probably a good thing after what he just said. You also just listened to the wrong god. Because, after all, I am a trickster and a tester. And you pay a terrible price if you lose. And you know what; us gods have always wanted a pawn that they can torture."

Cuzkaal's look of anger had now turned into that of great fear, he knew there were consequences, he didn't know that they would happen to him, he had become too naïve to even notice and now he was paying for it in the worst way possible. Cuzkaal backed away from Jagul who was slowly advancing toward him, her clawed unsheathed and an angry growl emanating from her chest. He knew he had lost now and knew that there was no way out of this. He had been tricked by one of the most powerful gods in the universe and he paid for it for eight years. He almost won and got what he wanted but others had been more powerful than him. He was now finished and he could do nothing about it, he could not fight back into the world of the living, he had no power over that, not if Jagul had anything to do about it.

Homer watched what happened next with great curiosity in his eyes, he had never seen a god turn their back on a mortal before and it was very interesting. Cuzkaal kept backing up while Jagul inched closer as if she was waiting for the right moment to pounce. They were still on the trail and farther in it was much darker. Homer had no idea where the trail took you but he stayed where he was as Jagul made Cuzkaal go deeper and deeper into the forest until he could neither see nor hear them for quite some time. Homer waited, waited to find out what was about to happen, until finally he heard Jagul let out a roar before he heard Cuzkaal cry out. But Cuzkaal's cries were shortened, almost to a half scream before the forest was silent once again. Cuzkaal was no more.

Homer stayed where he was, wondering if Jagul would return, he wasn't sure if she was controlling him or not so he decided to be careful and wait, he did not want to anger her any further. For a long time he stood there and waited for any sounds or movement coming from the dark forest and for the first time he began to realize how lonely and frightening it was to be there. He wanted to find his way back, he wanted to go home, he wasn't ready to die, but he had no idea where to go.

"Why are you still here?" a voice called from behind him.

Homer turned around and saw Jagul sitting behind him with a curious look on her face while her tail twitched with anticipation. For the first time since Homer saw her, she looked friendly and helpful, almost like a huge burden had been lifted off her back. But Homer knew to be cautious and stayed as far away as he could from her.

"Well I didn't want to leave just in case you also had a plan in mind for me," Homer said nervously as he rubbed his fingers together.

"Well consider yourself lucky, I have no plan for you, you have a different god than Cuzkaal did, so I cannot decide your fate," said Jagul.

"Well I guess that's a relief," Homer sighed as he began to go around Jagul. "But do you know how I can get back to my family; I'm not ready to leave them yet."

"I'm afraid you are on your own with that one, I cannot help you with that. And now since my work here is done, I must leave you here and return to my jungle home," Jagul said.

Homer had no time to reply to her statement, in the blink of an eye, she leapt toward the dark trail. She did not look back, nor did she hesitate, she just kept running until she finally disappeared into view, never to be seen by Homer again.

Homer stood there, alone once again on the semi dark trail. Where was he supposed to go? He did not want to go into the lighted path; he sensed that it would not take him to where he wanted to be. It did look inviting but he knew what awaited him there was not his family. For many moments he stood there trying to figure out what to do, where to go and if it was the right path. He was scared now, he did not want to die, he wanted to be back with his family so he could talk to them and tell them how much he cared about them. But it seemed impossible now as if his hope would never come true.

After many moments of thinking, Homer began to believe that it was hopeless and that there was no more future for him. He turned toward the lighted path ready to face the fact that that was where he was meant to be. He took a step forward ready to face certain death when a familiar sound stopped him in his tracks.

He stood where he was for a moment, trying to figure out if what he was hearing was coming from the lighted path, or the darkened path that he had thought about going toward. It was the sound of a saxophone playing, but was it really his daughter Lisa calling to him? He listened carefully, even though he could not stand her saxophone playing sometimes, he could still recognize it with the different scales. He listened and waited.

Yes! It had to be her calling to him to come back home. Homer knew it had to be her; no one else played the saxophone as beautifully as her. He had to admit that it was the most beautiful sound in the world right now, and he knew he was heading in the right direction. He was going home; he was going to finally be with his family again. He ran toward the darkness without any fear, knowing that this was where he needed to go. It seemed to take forever to get there but he knew it would be worth it.

Finally he reached it, and without any second thoughts or second glances at what was behind him he went right on through and welcomed the oncoming darkness.

* * *

A/N: Some of you may recognize the dark forest from my last story; I decided to use it again but in a different way. And also I kind of hinted at what my next story will be about, so yeah yay. And look, this story has at least 100,000 words, I was not expecting that. Man this story was so much longer than I thought. Well two more chapters to go and I am finished, thank God, I am ready for this to be over. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter though so please review when you can, I will see you all in a few days with my penultimate chapter.


	29. Back Together

The sound of the saxophone faded as Homer was covered in darkness once again. He was a little upset by this because at first he thought that he would only be in the void for a little while, but then he realized that he was in it for much longer. Time seemed to stand still as he heard no sound in the great darkness. He had no idea how long it was but somehow he knew that his state of unconsciousness was lasting longer than he realized. He knew he must have taken a heavy beating and he hoped that the group was lucky enough to bring him to civilization where he could get good medical care. Then again, Shaw was a good healer; perhaps he was healing him in a way that made his body sleep through it. Whatever was happening to him, he hoped he would find out soon, floating through voids were extremely boring and slow.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Homer could sense that things were returning to the way they were. At first it was a dull numbness that he could feel going through his left arm and then followed by an ache in his chest that felt like something was on top of it. As he was feeling his way back into his body, he began to hear again and soon he heard the sound of the saxophone, but after a while, it stopped. It was soon replaced by the sound of what Homer could only believe to be heart monitors.

For a long time, his eyes stayed closed as he heard the heart monitors beep and soft murmuring of voices coming from nearby. The pain was finally showing up and he knew he was in for a long recovery, but he did not care, he was back with his family, the family he had been waiting to be with for many days. He just needed to open his eyes.

It took him a while to do so; apparently he must have been given a special sedative to help him sleep through the worst of his injuries. But it finally happened, the light entered into his world again and at first all he could see was the clean whiteness of a hospital room. He let his eyes blink a few times to let them adjust to the changing light before he noticed his left arm attached to an IV and something else important.

It was the soft hand of his wife, he could not mistake that. He let his eyes wander upwards some more before he saw her eyes staring back at him. She had the look of exhaustion in those eyes almost like she had not slept in days, her hair was all mussed up, but her loving smile remained. It wasn't long before Homer saw a single tear fall down her face, he had no idea if it was tears of joy or of worry but he wanted to reach out and hug her if he didn't feel so weak and achy. Instead he only smiled and squeezed her hand softly.

"Oh Homie, you finally woke up, I was getting so worried," Marge said as she bent down and hugged him as softly as she could.

As Marge did so, Homer quickly began to notice the extent of his injuries. His right arm was in a sling; his left wrist was also wrapped up. He noticed that there was an elastic band around his chest where apparently he had broken a rib or two; there was a cast on his leg near the ankle. And of course a wrapping on his side where Cuzkaal had stabbed him, he also had several bandages here and there where he received minor lacerations.

"How long was I out?" Homer asked as he inspected himself.

"Five days, you were lucky to have survived at all," Marge said.

"But Shaw saved your life; he knew how to treat you until you got to a real hospital." Homer quickly turned his head to find the source of that voice, it was Maggie and she was standing on the other side of the bed along with Lisa, Bart, Celia, Paige, and Riley. All of them were there waiting for him to wake up.

"Where is Shaw any way?" Homer asked as he looked around some more.

"He had to go back to the village; he was here for about two days before he could no longer stand the modernization of things. He told me to tell you that he was sorry he could not wait any longer and that he wishes you luck in life," said Riley.

"Well I owe him my life; I really do hope to see him again someday. He helped us out a lot, all of us. Including Alex, who also seems to be missing," Homer replied as he looked around one more time before putting his head back down in exhaustion.

"Alex and Milo are already back in America, almost immediately after you arrived here, people began swarming us, and well, Alex sort of took over and told them to leave us alone, someone in the group recognized her and soon all cameras were on Alex and Milo. They barely had time to even check up on us but Alex made sure she said goodbye and even gave Mr. Post a number to reach her," Lisa exclaimed.

"Yeah, apparently she liked me," Riley said nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck and looked a little red around the cheeks.

"Which is just awesome!" Celia exclaimed with a big grin on her face. Paige only rolled her eyes.

"But thanks for keeping me sane through all this Homer; I don't think I would have handled it well without you. I'm glad you survived, it scared me when I saw you lying there on the bank with Shaw next to you trying to save you…it brought back memories," Riley said with a sigh.

"How did you get me back here?" asked Homer trying to change the subject so as not to upset Riley too much. Riley of course was very happy to give Homer the rundown of what happened.

"Well it's sort of a long story but for about a day you were on the bank while Shaw stayed by your side. Bull actually showed up, apparently he helped Milo out of a jam and Alex went with him to find his boat so we could easily transport you back to civilization. Once Bull returned, we carefully put you in the boat and brought you back to the first village where your wife went into hysterics as soon as she saw you, she kept trying to wake you up and cried a lot while we tried to contact Manaus and let them know how badly injured you were. We were able to get you a helicopter to transport you to this hospital, and we have all been waiting patiently ever since for you to wake up. The doctor was worried for a very long time because your heart beats were so low but you finally started showing progress two days ago."

"And did Lisa really play her sax to get me to wake up, or was I only imagining things?" asked Homer.

"Yeah, I started playing it a day before you started getting better and I kept playing it every chance I got," Lisa said with a smile as she held up her old saxophone that she had been using since she was eight.

"That's my girl," Homer said with a sigh as he closed his eyes to rest them just for a moment. He still felt very worn out even though he had been unconscious for the past five days.

"Alright kids, I know you are happy to see your father again but I think its best we let him rest, we don't want to over stimulate him," Marge said as she motioned with her one free hand that everyone needed to go do their own thing. Apparently though, Marge was going to stay beside him while he rested. Homer knew she was being a good wife, but he really wanted to get whatever was on his mind about the kids out.

"Actually Marge I was wondering if I could talk to our kids for just a few moments," Homer replied as he stared back up at her.

Marge looked back at Homer, she was unsure if she should let him do that in his current condition. He had been through a lot and he looked like he had been run over by a truck, straining too much to talk to his kids seemed like a bad move, he needed to rest to get his strength back up so they could finally go back home. It was going to take a few extra days now that Homer was awake, they did not want to move him too soon just in case. Homer just wanted to ignore his problems for the moment and decided to give Marge his innocent puppy dog look that worked on occasion. Marge stared back; his tired eyes looked so innocent even with the small bandage that was taped just over his eyebrow. It really was impossible to say no.

"Okay, but don't overdo it," said Marge. Apparently the puppy dog look worked best when she was more concerned about him.

Homer turned to the kids who now had their eyes on him ready to hear what he had to say. Riley, Paige and Celia backed away a little bit and sat in a nearby couch so they would not be in the way. That was until Homer motioned for them to go outside, Marge too. He wanted to have a private conversation with his three kids, no one else. Marge of course did not like it one bit, but it was Homer's decision not hers, she had to comply and warned them that she would be back in thirty minutes to make sure her husband was not exhausting himself. Finally once everyone except for the kids were gone, Homer began to talk.

"Thank you Maggie," Homer said with a tired smile.

"For what Dad? We both were nearly killed going on this adventure that I chose and it turned into something worse than the rafting trip with Bart. And I am so sorry I even put you up to this, I know you didn't want to do it and I shouldn't have been so demanding about wanting to do that with you, but I wanted to get to know you and I thought it would be fun. Instead it was a dangerous and stupid risk that I almost lost you over," said Maggie sounding a bit upset. She must have been feeling guilty the entire time waiting for her father to wake up because she was starting to cry.

"Maggie," Homer replied softly.

"What Dad?" Maggie whimpered as she wiped a tear away from her eyes.

"I told this to Lisa once after she ran off to the museum back home. Risks, be they stupid or dangerous, are what make life worth living. Sure we could have done something else like that horseback riding trip in Montana, but you know what? I don't think it would have been as great as this trip was, we both found your hero's alive and well, and you know what else?" asked Homer as he put his good arm on Maggie's shoulder.

"What Dad?" Maggie asked tears falling in her eyes as she held his hand while Bart and Lisa both stood there with curiosity in their eyes.

"I began to realize how important you three are to me. I could have done something else in my life, maybe traveled with friends or fell in love with someone else, but in reality I really don't think it would have been that great, because I did not have you three there by my side. You three make my life worth living, and I know I was never a good father and that I never really encouraged you guys to do your best, and I blame it on how I was raised. My father rarely encouraged me for anything and I guess I was never really sure how to show how proud I was for all three of you, but deep down inside I was. I know I act like I don't care, but I do, I do care and I want all three of you to succeed at what you are good at."

"I want all of you to do well in life, I want all of you to succeed and do what you love. I want to see you all succeed. I'm amazed right now that none of you have found someone to love yet, well Bart and Lisa any way, but I know that all three of you will find someone one day who will love you as much as I do. I want to be there to see you three walking down the aisle and getting married and having kids. Just the thought of me being a grandfather makes me feel excited. And when you three have kids I want you to encourage them, don't act like your old man here, tell them to do well, help them out the best you can, and show that you care. I know they will act like you hate it but in the end they will appreciate all that you did for them."

"If you don't do any of that, well sooner or later they will grow up and you will have nothing to remember them by because you were too busy doing things for yourself and not for them. I am very guilty of that and it's kind of upsetting to think about, so I want to say I am sorry to all three of you. I am sorry I messed up on being a father and I am sorry I never encouraged you guys at what you all do, and I'm sorry…"

"Dad, you're babbling and Mom said to not overdo it," said Lisa.

"But I'm just telling you what's been on my mind since not knowing where Maggie is, I just want to tell you all how proud I am of you. Bart with the way he was able to create his own store. Lisa with how well she can play the saxophone, and of course Maggie with how well she can survive on her own, even though it scared the crap out of me."

"Well that's what happens when you watch the Discovery Channel too much," Maggie said.

"It paid off huh," Homer said with a smile.

"And Dad, I gotta say that what you did to help us on that bridge was probably the bravest thing you ever done. Even braver than that time we were trying to get rid of the bomb in the dome," Bart said rather enthusiastically.

"Thanks son, but will you ever forgive me for that incident in Flanders backyard?" asked Homer, remembering why Bart never really talked to him anymore because of that certain incident.

"Well, it was a pretty embarrassing incident for both of us, but more for you. But after what you did for us I think I can let it slide and only mention it on special occasions," Bart replied with a mischievous grin.

"So you forgive me?" sighed Homer.

"Sure why not, you're the only father I'll ever have, I was actually worried that I would never get to speak to you again. If you would have left us, then I would have felt guilty and spent the rest of my life wishing I would have forgiven you," Bart said.

Homer let out a heavy sigh and smiled at his only son. Bart sure knew how to tug at the heartstrings; he just wished he would have cared about him more when he was younger. Both of them would have bonded so well by now. Homer then looked toward Lisa and Maggie who were both waiting to see if he had anything else to say.

"Your mother said not to overdo it right?" Homer asked.

"I think you got enough across," Lisa said before moving forward and giving her father a hug.

"You think I did huh?" asked Homer.

"Yeah, you admitted that you care about us, even though you rarely show it," said Maggie.

"And you admitted your mistakes, it takes guts to do that and I for one am proud of you," said Lisa.

"Thanks guys," Homer said as he slowly closed his eyes and let out a tired sigh. He had done what he wanted; now he was ready to recover. Talking really took a lot out of an injured person.

"Should we go now?" Maggie whispered into Lisa's ear.

"Yeah, Dad needs his rest, come on, I'll take you guys to a really good Portuguese restaurant," Lisa said as she herded both Bart and Maggie out of the room.

As soon as they opened the door, they found Marge sitting across from them, sleeping on Riley's shoulder. Their mother had to be exhausted; she didn't sleep a wink since they had been there, staying by Homer's side the entire time, waiting for him to wake up and hoping he would make it. Now that he was finally awake and resting comfortably, she could finally sleep, and apparently anything could work at the moment. Riley looked back at them with a concerned smile on his face, apparently he was a temporary pillow until later, of course he could not move much in fear of waking her up. Paige and Celia were sitting nearby, both giggling at the scene, not because Marge had chosen Riley as a pillow, but because their father seemed a bit uncomfortable by it.

"Why don't you two come to the restaurant with us," Lisa said.

"Yeah go on guys, Mrs. Simpson needs her sleep and someone should at least be here when she wakes up," Riley whispered.

"Alright let's go then, see you all in a few hours," Lisa said as she led everyone down the hall.

Riley only gave a short nod before trying to adjust himself as carefully as possible while Marge slept. Apparently she was a heavy sleeper when things finally settled down. He finally found a good sitting position and just sat there staring at the walls while nurses and doctors walked by, including the one who had been watching Homer, the doctor made his way into the room to check on how Homer was progressing. When the doctor came out, he stared at Riley for a moment as if thinking about talking to Marge, but Riley put a finger to his lips letting the doctor know that she needed sleep. He would come back later.

Riley let out a sigh, and looked down at Marge, it made him miss his wife, she would do that often even while waiting for a table. As he thought, he heard the television a few feet away on a news channel, it was a special channel for the English speakers and he listened as the news talked about Alex Steele and Milo Sanchez. A few moments later, Alex came up to the screen for an interview.

"My adventure in the Amazon was the most memorable adventure in my life, but it was the last few weeks that really stood out. I got to meet two wonderful men who were concerned over their daughters. Both of them had the kindest hearts I had ever seen in men next to Milo here and we all worked hard to find the girls in time before something terrible would happen to them. I hope to speak to them again someday, maybe spend more time with them and see what their world is like, rather than the one I was stuck in. I thank them for helping me decide to return to civilization. There are plans for a new documentary, but when that will happen I will not say. It's going to be a while. But I do hope they will be just as exciting as they always were, and you all will just be as excited to see me again."

Riley watched as Alex was quickly changed to one of the news anchors who began to talk about other things going on in the world. But Riley ignored them, he was still picturing Alex on the screen, for a moment he remembered the conversation he had with her the other day and how she hoped to see him again. She was such a nice person, but could he move on? Her face was still in his mind as he tried to think about Charlotte. Charlotte was there, but so was Alex and both where smiling back at him as if they were telling him everything was going to be alright. He then put his free hand in his pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper, the word Alex was scribbled on the top followed by a few sets of numbers. Riley stared at it and smiled.

What the hell, why not?

* * *

A/N: I apologize for this chapter, I think it turned out sappier than I wanted it to be and it just annoyed me to no end. But my annoyances will come to an end in just one more chapter, well an epilogue really but still just one more chapter and I am done diddly done with this story. Took way too long to write and it just wasn't as good as I had hoped. Oh well, at least some of you enjoyed that. Also the thing that Homer did to Bart, well I am leaving that up to your imaginations. Please review when you can, my final chapter is on its way!


	30. Epilogue

A few days went by, and for the first two days Homer was showing signs of great progress, the doctor believed that he was finally ready to go home where he could recover safely in the states. But then things started to change, on the third day of his recovery his body suddenly started to shut down. His lungs started to collapse from his broken ribs, his legs would not move and his mind suddenly went delirious. For days the doctors tried to save him while Marge and the kids watched from the sidelines, praying and hoping that he would survive the ordeal. They began to wonder if it was a curse put on by Cuzkaal or Jagul and now he was finally paying the price. The doctors tried their best and despite everything that they could do for him, Homer passed away one rainy evening, still delirious and unable to say goodbye to his family properly.

He was sent home in a coffin where he was buried and they held a lovely funeral for him. Everyone remembered the good old days with Homer and everyone shed a few tears wishing that Homer would have survived the horrible ordeal. The kids especially were heartbroken, but were so glad that Homer was able to say how much he cared about them the few days before he died. He was truly a great father.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Just kidding. Here's what happens during the next eight years.

Homer did make a full recovery and he never ended up with any complications before he went home to the states with his family. Once he was home though, he stayed one more day in the hospital to make sure that everything was really alright before finally going home the next day. He spent about a month recovering from his injuries but during that time he would usually go out and watch Maggie play games with Celia or spend a few hours watching movies with Bart and Lisa. Once he was fully recovered, he started taking Maggie out on Saturdays for fun daddy daughter activities like the movies or the museum.

They still went to the adventure club every Friday night where they discussed fun activities that they planned to do, usually on Saturdays which Homer was grateful for, or talked about upcoming trips. So far nothing huge was planned, save for a small hiking trip out in the Rockies the next summer. Both Maggie and Celia were very much into the idea of hiking some of the greatest peaks in the world, their fathers not so much. But like always they ended up giving in and had a grand old time. And they didn't even get lost until they spent a day in Denver sightseeing.

Homer loved these times with Maggie and was saddened when the time came for her to move out of the house and head on off to college. To everyone's surprise, Maggie decided to take up journalism, she hopes to one day work for any of the top scientific journals and perhaps even help plan ideas for Alex Steele.

Bart spent a few years managing his comic store business before he handed the keys over to Nelson Muntz. Nelson ran the store but Bart still owned it, he just had new plans. He learned how to draw and shortly afterward decided to go into comic book creations. He came up with an idea for a new superhero, not as edgy and dark like most superhero comics but more fun and filled with slapstick as he fought the bad guys. It became quite a popular series especially for elementary school kids. In fact it became popular enough that many parents were commending him for teaching their children to read. Bart felt proud of himself for that and of course no one was more proud of him than his own father, who actually became a villain in one of the series. Homer of course was not sure if he should be flattered or proud of that but he let it slide after it got quite funny. They are currently planning a cartoon series for his creation; hopefully it will be out by next fall.

Lisa stayed in the Peace Corps for two more years where she had a small adventure in Ecuador involving Galapagos Tortoises. During that adventure, she met another person in the Peace Corps named Philip; together they stopped poachers in their tracks as they tried to ship young tortoises into the states illegally. They had such a fun time being together that once they finished their time with the Peace Corps, they returned to the states where they both studied to become veterinarians. After a few months they became very close and were often seen together in the local coffee shop or in the library studying together. A few times, Maggie caught them in the tree house on weekends, much to her annoyance but to Marge and Homer it was the sweetest thing they had ever seen, even though they were most likely doing the hanky panky.

Shortly after they graduated from college, Phillip proposed to Lisa one afternoon in the park. Lisa of course said yes and a few months later, Homer was walking his daughter down the aisle to hand her to the man she had fallen in love with. It was a beautiful wedding ceremony and Marge could not stop crying over how happy she was to finally see her daughter getting married and finally becoming a beautiful young woman. Lisa and Philip spent their honeymoon in Alaska and surprisingly enough while hiking they found the old house that the family had holed up in after their escape from the dome. Even though it was extremely dusty and unkempt from no use, it was still in great condition and was turned into a summer cottage for the family. Lisa is now currently pregnant; the gender is unknown at the moment because both would like to be surprised.

Marge is still teaching art at the community college, and before Maggie began college it was more of a quick thing to do while her daughter and husband went out for some fun. She liked earning the extra cash and enjoyed seeing many talented artists all over the city. After two years of working, she decided to move on and teach Art History which took some getting used to but Marge learned how to teach in her own style that many of the students enjoyed. She is still a little rough around the edges but she is getting better with time. Of course, with Maggie now in college, Marge is sort of experiencing empty nest syndrome and has shown interest in traveling around the country with Homer. They are currently saving up to buy an RV and hope to someday take a quick road trip to the New England states. Only time will tell when that will happen but Homer is more than excited about doing it.

Celia is still great friends with Maggie; they went to the same school together and were always willing to go together on the club outings. As the years went by with the club, Celia began to realize that in order for it to go even farther to be the adventurous club they were, they should have special donation drives to help with the club. The first drive was the simple baking sale where all the parents brought in baked goods to help raise money. Naturally, Marge's marshmallow squares were a big hit and she even made a sponge cake that was not overly burned. But the biggest surprise and hit was from Milo who made a surprise appearance and gave away his marshmallow caramel brownie squares. Rest assured there was enough sugar in there to give everyone a sugar high, including Homer who swore up and down he went into a diabetic coma for several hours afterward. Marge claims that it was just the sugar high finally settling down and that he slept like a baby all night.

Other special fun drives included a car wash, candy bar sales and Celia's favorite a special carnival in the parking lot of the meeting place. They actually raised so much at the carnival that they had enough to go on a safari if they wanted to. Of course Jeremy chickened out and instead saved for a trip to Yellowstone National Park and to an expedition to Denali National Park in Alaska.

Because of her great skills at helping things grow, she is now studying in business. Sadly, she did not go to the same college as Maggie so both are now far apart but try their best to stay in contact whenever they can. Of course Maggie always tries to find ways to meet up with her, especially when Alex comes to visit her father. Maggie always has something on her mind to tell Alex about what she wants to do with the journaling she has planned. Of course Celia is very excited about Alex and Riley's relationship, Paige took some time for the idea to kick in but through the years she has accepted it.

As you can tell, Riley is still spending time with Alex whenever he can get the chance. As soon as they returned home from Brazil, he called Alex who unfortunately was away for the day; she did not call back until three days later, only to tell him that she was in town and would like to go out for coffee. They met up and spent the evening talking about the things they were unable to talk about while in the Amazon. After the night had ended both realized how much of a connection they shared and how often they wanted to see each other. But Alex was always on the move and Riley knew that Celia or Paige would not like traveling so much, so he made the decision to stay put in Springfield, he still wasn't too into the idea of marriage yet any way. He liked just having someone to wait for to see every so often. Alex did not mind the idea either but she often extended the invitation for him to tag along. Riley did take the invitation a few times including one trip to Germany to visit the forests there, and another trip to South Africa to study the lion prides that roamed the area. But of course Riley wanted to stay faithful to Charlotte but he is starting to get lonely now that Celia is in college and that Paige is married. Only time will tell what his plans are for the future. He is still great friends with Homer too and has been known to accompany Homer to Moe's on a few occasions with hilarious results.

Alex Steele as you can tell without visiting her Facebook page (no I did not make a facebook page for her so don't bother looking, I'm not that crazy) is in a relationship with Riley Post. She had not had one in a very long time so she is very happy to have someone who cares so much about her. Of course she still loves her work and was very glad that the company let her come back. She has continued with her old show with more exciting adventures and even some tips on how to survive if you are lost somewhere. The show is once again a smash hit and people from all over the world wrote to her when she returned about how happy they were to see her again. Of course her old show returned for about four more seasons before she ran out of ideas. So she started a new show about cultures around the world. She has tried quite a few trends from other countries and a few foods that actually look worse than some of the things she tried in the Amazon. But it was well worth it because the fans love it and are always on the lookout for more exciting adventures by her.

Alex does plan on helping Maggie once she is done with her degree and Maggie is hoping that she will find new and interesting ways for Alex to share things with the world. So far she has an idea for Alex to start a special blog asking people what they would like to see from her and to know what special plans she has in store for them. Alex says she is not ready to stop anytime soon so she hopes she will be around for a very long time to keep everyone entertained.

Milo Sanchez of course did follow Alex around for the four seasons the show ran for. Once that was over he had the option of joining Alex on her culture show or to start his own. What ended up was this: Milo did follow Alex for a few episodes, visiting the local life and trying out all sorts of new foods that he never heard of before. Until one day a fan asked him why he had not shown any one how to survive in the wild, Alex of course should have started a new show like this but for some reason people wanted to see Milo teach everyone how to survive. So after a few episodes, Milo left Alex, but would still make a few appearances and still hung close to her in real life whenever he could. He started a new show where he was in competition with another survival expert named Wolf Fryyn, both would be left out in the wild to survive on their own and both would use their own survival tactics while out in the wilderness. Whoever did the best job would be the winner of that episode, usually Milo would be the winner but Wolf was also a very good survivor as well. It was all in good fun though and Milo did not mind losing from time to time.

Milo would still keep in contact with the girls, visiting from time to time to see how they were doing. Both were always so excited and both would never stop asking him questions like they had done when they first ran into him. At first Milo would be overwhelmed but after a while he began to expect it and took it all in stride. He also blames them for not finding a girlfriend because of how he visits them when he can but he knows one day he will find someone. Just not yet.

Shawlakhaanoytl returned home from his short visit into civilization, happy to be home and continued his rule of the tribe until Hatchatka became of age just a few months ago. A few days after not seeing Alex again, he realized how boring it was in the tribe and spent a few days moping about wondering what to do with himself. Over time he learned to accept the fact that Alex was no longer there with him and that things changed for a reason, still though he missed his walks with her in the jungle and was often searching along the river for any lost non natives just so he can help them. He got lucky once though when he ran into Brock Turnbull who ran aground after his boat lost gas and nearly fell down the very waterfall that Maggie and Homer got lost in in the first place. A few times in his meditation, Jagul would come to visit him usually to try to persuade him to do something, but Shaw would always turn her down knowing how Jagul could be a trickster and lead him down the right path. Jagul respects him for this and knows that he really is the right shaman for the tribe, too bad Cuzkaal never saw his greatness.

Jagul is very happy to be free from controlling Cuzkaal and his evil ways; she is currently trying to persuade a shaman of a tribe further upriver to persuade the chief of that tribe to let the shaman go on a special quest for a new type of medicine. She hopes to be his guide in a good way, she has no plans to trick this shaman because she believes he has too much on his mind already and just needs to go out into the open air away from the village. Jagul had done a deed similar to that hundreds of years ago where she helped a shaman find a better home before the Europeans showed up, it was an amazing adventure but one that would have to require a whole novel to tell, perhaps one day. For now though she has a new story to explore and seek, she hopes that it will end well because she knows that this shaman has a good heart that will not give up.

Brock Turnbull still has no idea behind the real reason why everyone calls him Bull, still just as clueless as ever as he continues to boat down the Amazon and help people get from point A to point B. Many times he ran aground and gotten lost, and quite a few times he has spent days traveling the Amazon looking for a new way out. Luis is usually the one who finds him and now these days, Luis is traveling with him to make sure he does not get into too much trouble, something that is very hard to do because trouble always seems to find Bull. A few weeks ago, both went jaguar hunting since a few towns have been losing their livestock to the big cats, and while hunting, Bull swears he saw the jaguar he was pursuing vanish into thin air; Luis assured him it was only the mist making it look that way. But only the Jaguar knows for sure.

Narfy is very happy that she is finally finished with her strange tale of adventure and shamanistic stuff and is ready for something new to share with you all and will hopefully leave you all satisfied. Well this one probably did too but she has better ideas, but first she must switch to first person because talking about herself in third person just sounds weird after a while.

Ah now that's better, ahem! Thank you everyone for taking the time to read my story and leaving such nice reviews even though this tale left something to be desired, or something like that. Yes so many changes happened in this tale, some for the better; some for the… well it just made you ponder what the hell I was thinking. I always love seeing reviews from those who watch me and discuss with me what I should do next. Huge thank you to both CalculatedChaos and Bdlywrttn who stuck by me during those long nights where I kept hounding them about whether an idea worked or not. And of course for dealing with my incessant whining, there were a few times when I wanted to delete this thing. Big thank you also to UndeadSamurai, Bruelock, Javagirl1992, Gypsy Rosalie, SmileySarah (even though you are still catching up) Lachcal, and anyone else who reviewed you all have my great thanks and appreciation. You all rocked especially when I had that really bad writers block and needed help, thank you all for being there when I needed some ideas. This story took me exactly eleven months to write and I wish it would have been less, it was just too time consuming but I guess it was a nice thing to do until I had another idea.

So what's next for me you ask? Well I have decided that it is time to write my what if story. That's right I am going to finally write The Way We Never Should Have Been. For the past few weeks my brain has been itching for me to tell this story, especially after watching Half Decent Proposal on the Season 13 DVD. Expect it to be up in about two weeks, I need about a week to think things over, watch The Way We Was a few times, and plan so that I may write this in a way that you all will enjoy. There will be drama, romance, and of course sap, along with a little Moe Szylac thrown in for good measure. So be on the lookout for this story at the beginning of October, I hold my word on it, not like how you had to actually wait a month and a half for this one to show up.

Well that's all for now, I got 3,000 words in like Chaos sort of wanted, he actually wanted 30,000 but he's nuts, yet still awesome at the same time. Please review when you can and I will see you all in a few weeks or just watch for me I might actually review other peoples work since I have nothing better to do, yeah I know I really should review more.

Anyone want a peanut?


End file.
